Facebook is extending its downvote button trial to more users

Facebook is extending its downvote button trial to more users.

Now some customers in New Zealand and Australia may see the Reddit-like feature, which shouldn’t be confused with the dislike button. The new button appears below posts made by certain public pages that were created in Australia, and only on Facebook’s mobile app.

A similar trial took place in the United States in February.

A company spokesperson told CNET:

People have told us they would like to see better public discussions on Facebook, and want spaces where people with different opinions can have more constructive dialogue.

To that end, we’re running a small test in New Zealand which allows people to upvote or downvote comments on public Page posts.

The feature permits people to reduce the visibility of unpopular posts by hiding comments and providing feedback about them. Facebook notes that the button will make it easier for them to rank the comments that readers believe deserve to rank highest rather than the comments that get the strongest emotional reaction.

The BBC understands that there are no immediate plans to roll out the downvote button across the social network.