Facebook Deleting Clickbait Videos With Still Images, Fake Play Buttons

Facebook has invested a lot of its resources into making video a major part of the News Feed, but it’s now working to fix a loophole that’s frequently been exploited. In a post, Facebook confirmed that it’s cracking down on video clickbait posts that only feature a static loop of a still image or have a fake embedded play button.

These clickbait image videos often redirect users to third-party sites and, thanks to Facebook’s current emphasis on promoting video, can often gain sizable viewing and engagement numbers. As part of the new update, Facebook will demote these posts, which will have them appear lower in a user’s News Feed.

“Publishers that rely on these intentionally deceptive practices should expect the distribution of those clickbait stories to markedly decrease,” Facebook wrote. “Most Pages won’t see significant changes to their distribution in News Feed. But, as always, publishers should refer to our publishing best practices.”

While Facebook said instances of publishers abusing video tools have been relatively low, the social media network still wants to take an active approach against this clickbait to clean up the News Feed for users.

According to Facebook, it plans to use a variety of tools to detect whether posts are featuring real or fake videos. These include ways to determine if video posts feature motion or if they’re entirely made from static images. In addition, the update won’t affect ads, but ads that still feature fake play buttons or videos of still images will be penalized by Facebook.

The update is the latest way that Facebook has tweaked and adjusted its News Feed in order to cut down on lower-quality posts. In a May update, Facebook detailed how it detects if links could potentially be clickbait through areas like analyzing if headlines left out vital information and were clickbait-like.

Facebook’s focus on video clickbait is also an unintended side effect of the social media network’s recent emphasis on video. In the past year, the company has released several News Feed tweaks and adjustments designed to make video a more prominent part of Facebook for mobile and desktop users. Earlier this month, Facebook also confirmed the launch of its Watch program, which’ll feature a slate of original programming for users to watch.