Starting some time in June of 2019 Facebook began demoting content in the News Feed
- With exaggerated or sensational health claims
- Attempting to sell products or services based on health-related claims
This update seeks to demote health content that might be harmful or inaccurate, Facebook references “miracle cures” in their post but it could also be any common phrasing used by MLM sellers that sell medical / health products.
Facebook did tell us that this update works by identifying common phrases used by peddlers of products with seemingly to-good-to-be-true results or of health information that may not be accurate. When the News Feed algo sees one of these phrases has been used in a post, that post then gets severely reduced reach into the News Feed.
The update appears to be post specific, meaning that it only affects one post at a time and doesn’t appear to accumulate or impair a page in any other fashion (except of course losing the engagement from the impacted post). Facebook stated “If a Page stops posting this content, their posts will no longer be affected by this change.”
More info:
- Facebook Newsroom: Addressing Sensational Health Claims
- Search Engine Journal: Facebook Updates News Feed Algorithm to Reduce Sensational Health Claims