You'll also notice an "issues" tab that includes quotes and video clips explaining a candidate's policies. If you want to know where Hillary Clinton stands on energy or what Donald Trump thinks about taxes, you don't have to wade through the candidates' external pages.

The endorsement option may seem a bit superfluous at first, but Facebook has a few good reasons to roll it out. For one, it gets people talking -- you may wonder why that buddy from high school is backing someone you didn't expect. The effort also gives both politicians and Facebook an easy way to quantify the most ardent supporters, those people who aren't afraid to wear their affiliations on their sleeves. Given that Facebook is already having a significant effect on the US election, we wouldn't be surprised if this new data gets put to use before long.