The social media site’s users want the ability to express empathy about certain posts, says Facebook CEO: ‘Not every moment is a good moment’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says the company is – at long last – responding to the desire for a “dislike” button on the popular social media site.

“I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it,” Zuckerberg said during a Q&A at Facebook’s headquarters, according to reports from Business Insider and CNBC.

Bloomberg had a slightly different quote from the Facebook chief: “People have asked about the dislike button for many years. We’ve finally heard you and we’re working on this and we will deliver something that meets the needs of the larger community.”

Zuckerberg has for years dismissed calls for such a button to accompany its “like”, to avoid a Reddit-style voting system: likes v dislikes, outweighing each other below someone’s posts.

But, reportedly citing news stories such as the Syrian refugee crisis or the death of a loved one, Zuckerberg seems to understand that a “like” doesn’t always convey a user’s true thoughts on a post.

“What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment,” Zuckerberg said, according to Business Insider.

The chief executive did not offer a timeline on when to expect the new button in action – or confirm what it would be called.



“We have an idea that we’re going to be ready to test soon, and depending on how that does, we’ll roll out it more broadly,” he said, according to CNN.