By reducing the organic reach of brands, Facebook is now prioritizing news stories in its News Feed to improve content quality. In response, some social accounts started publishing their advertisements as news and using clickbait headlines like “You won’t believe what happened” or “This will shock you!” to increase clicks with irrelevant or misleading content.

But Facebook has taken action!

The company published a blog post announcing measures against such “clickbait” headlines. Facebook described posts like “You won’t believe which two celebrities fought on the red carpet!” as “clickbait” and stated that it would reduce the visibility of such content.

According to their research, Facebook found that 80% of users decide to click on content based on the headline alone. To enhance user experience, Facebook plans to take new steps. One such measure involves evaluating the amount of time users spend on a story after clicking it.

In addition to time spent, Facebook will also consider whether users share or comment on the story. If users simply click through without further interaction, the post may be flagged as clickbait.

While no specific penalties were outlined for publishers who violate these guidelines, it is speculated that the organic reach of their pages may be reduced as a consequence.