It’s official: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook is working on a Dislike button

During a Q&A session at Facebook HQ, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company is planning to publicly test a Dislike button. It’s finally real.

While Zuckerberg had previously suggested Facebook was considering alternatives to ‘liking’ something, this is the first time he has definitively indicated it will ship a Dislike button to users. By the sound of it, we may not even have to wait too long.

He was also clear the button won’t be about fostering negativity the way YouTube and Reddit’s downvotes often can. Instead, it’s about “expressing empathy.”

Proponents of the dislike button have long argued that the Like button is not appropriate for certain topics – sad news about the refugee crisis, for instance – and that a wider gamut of reactions could help people to more accurately express their emotions without needing to type out a full comment.

It’s quite possible the company is working on a wider range of reactions, so posts aren’t limited to simple Likes and Dislikes.

That said, Zuckerberg expressed that part of the reason it’s taken so long to roll out new reaction options – Facebook has apparently been working on it for quite some time – is that he wants to keep interactions simple.

The CEO expects the new feature to begin public testing soon, and it will roll it out to everyone if embraced.

➤ Q&A with Mark [Facebook]