Facebook have started punishing users for those fake video play buttons

One of the twenty or thirty worst things about Facebook is when you go to click on a video button to watch a video, because that how you’ve been trained, only to be pushed through to an article.

These things. Fake video buttons.

“It’s a fake play button”, you yell at your long-suffering desk-partner, and curse The Mirror or whoever it is for this low-level trickery.

“Why don’t they do something about this?! It’s…it’s…”, you sputter, trying not to compare it to genocide or anything you can’t step back.

Luckily, for you and Cheryl (your desk-partner), Facebook have implemented an update that demotes stories in news feeds that feature fake video play buttons, and static images disguised as videos.

“People want to see accurate information on Facebook, and so do we”, write Facebook. “When people click on an image in their News Feed featuring a play button, they expect a video to start playing. Spammers often use fake play buttons to trick people into clicking links to low quality websites.”

This means if you use such tactics, Facebook will bury your story, which will impact your overall reach. So there.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.