Facebook Inc. announced today that it will crack down on “engagement bait” content that begs users for likes and other interactions.

Facebook divides engagement bait into a few different categories depending on the type of interaction posts are trying to get from users. For example, vote-baiting posts ask users to vote for a choice by using a certain reaction, while tag-baiting posts ask users to tag their friends in the post. Other categories include reaction bait, comment bait and share bait.

According to Facebook, the goal of these “like if you agree” or “share for a chance to win” posts is to game News Feed’s algorithm by artificially boosting user engagement, which increases the post’s reach of Facebook.

The social network said engagement bait goes against the idea of authenticity, which Facebook calls one of its “key News Feed values.” Facebook added that most users dislike these sort of  spammy tactics, which is why it has decided to penalize posts and pages that use engagement bait to cheat the system.

“To help us foster more authentic engagement, teams at Facebook have reviewed and categorized hundreds of thousands of posts to inform a machine learning model that can detect different types of engagement bait,” Facebook said in its announcement. “Posts that use this tactic will be shown less in News Feed.”

In its announcement, Facebook told publishers who use engagement bait that they should expect to see a drop in their post’s reach. The change will only affect individual posts at first, but repeat offenders may face a more serious penalty that will demote their content across the board, leading to “more significant drops in reach.” Facebook said that this page-level demotion will not roll out for a more few weeks, giving publishers “time to adapt and avoid inadvertently using engagement bait in their posts.”

Despite the crackdown, Facebook said it will give a free pass to certain types of posts that might normally be flagged as engagement bait, including “posts that ask people for help, advice, or recommendations, such as circulating a missing child report, raising money for a cause, or asking for travel tips.” For everyone else, Facebook promised to continue working on new ways to reduce engagement bait and similar tactics on its platform.

Photo: Facebook