Social network X is testing the dislikes feature again. As TechCrunch writes, it is now intended to evaluate comments, not publications. Graphically, liked responses are marked with a heart (the symbol has been used since 2015), disliked ones – with a broken heart. Information about this was reportedly found in the code of the X application for iOS.
Image source: X
Twitter experimented with the “downvote” feature back in 2021. However, the social network then stated that it was “simple research” and not plans to implement a “dislike” button. The following year, the company said that it had “learned a lot about the types of responses that users find relevant” and therefore decided to expand testing of the feature. However, since Elon Musk bought Twitter and subsequently renamed the social network to X, nothing has been reported about this feature and its potential availability to all users of the social network. TechCrunch suggests that in its current form, the feature is responsible for disliking a comment, and not for lowering its rating like a “downvote” on the same Reddit forum.
The problem with the dislike button is that it can be used as a tool by haters and internet trolls, who can use it for purposes similar to review bombing, where large groups of people leave negative user reviews of published works (movies, games, books, etc.). Currently, the best way to find out whether a particular post was liked by X readers is to compare the number of likes to the number of replies to the published post. If the number of replies is greater than the number of likes, then most often this indicates a negative assessment of the original post.
Several users who discovered the “dislike” feature in the new iteration spoke out against its implementation. “A dislike button is not a good idea. Especially for those channels that publish content that is constantly attacked by haters and attacked by trolls,” one user complained. According to another, the introduction of a dislike button will lead to “more targeted and organized attacks on the platform.”
Neither X nor Musk have commented on the latest test of the dislike feature, but it has been previously reported that the social network may begin hiding all likes on posts and comments. According to Musk, “it’s important to allow people to like posts without being attacked by the audience for it.” He has also previously said that he would like to remove the action buttons from tweets entirely and focus more on post views (or impressions). However, this has not yet happened.
In addition to Reddit, the social network TikTok allows you to put “minuses” on comments. In 2018, Facebook tested a similar function✴However, things did not progress beyond those tests.
If you notice an error, select it with your mouse and press CTRL+ENTER.
