Social giant Facebook has updated the algorithm of its News Feeds once again, with users supposedly now more likely to be met with “high quality content” when they log in.

With the updates already in effect, users should expect to see more story and news links in their feeds. Facebook’s engineering manager, Varun Kacholia, and software engineer Minwen Ji explained in an official company blog post that mobile users would benefit more than others.

The changes mean that once stories have been commented on, they’re more likely to be boosted to the top of users’ lists.

With older stories given more attention, it is likely that users will start to see links more than once, with the only difference being the presence of additional comments or likes from friends. The Californian company’s duo went on to insist that the firm is hoping to increase conversation around current affairs and hot topics.

Kacholia and Ji went on to say:

“We’ll be doing a better job of distinguishing between a high quality article on a website versus a meme photo hosted somewhere other than Facebook when people click on those stories on mobile.

“This means that high quality articles you or others read may show up a bit more prominently in your News Feed, and meme photos may show up a bit less prominently.”

Facebook is also set to start recommending relevant content by linking it to other articles. Users who follow links from their own News Feeds will be provided with suggestions, which will appear beneath the initial post.

The developments further support the idea that Facebook is trying to push itself forward as a prominent news source. In October, a study from Pew Research showed that 30 per cent of adults in the US use the platform alongside more traditional media, like newspapers and television.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.