by Peter M. D’Abrosca, Laura Loomer:

Facebook has confirmed that it is testing its own platform without the “Like” function in Australia, which essentially means that users will not be able to gauge the popularity of certain posts based on how many others have “Liked” it.

“The company has now officially started a test that will remove public visibility of Like, reaction and video view counts from people’s posts and ads across Facebook,” according to Engadget. “Facebook said it wants to get some initial results from Australia, before eventually deciding which steps to take next.”

The new egalitarian Facebook will still allow users to “Like” or “React” to posts, but it won’t show them how many others have done the same, or what their reactions were. Only the author of the post will be able to see the total number of “Likes” and “Reactions.” It is a whitewash of content that could, if fully implemented, have ramifications for those who use Facebook for political purposes.

For example, users will no longer be able to garner the popular sentiment of a political news article posted to the platform by a news organization. Once again, this feature could have the effect of restricting open debate, something for which the Big Tech giants in Silicon Valley are becoming known.

It could also pose a problem for social media influencers who have built revenue-generating apparatuses out of their clout.

“We will gather feedback to understand whether this change will improve people’s experiences,” a Facebook spokesperson reportedly said of the test.

Facebook, along with other Silicon Valley titans of industry, has been known to ban conservatives outright, and is preparing to inject itself into the 2020 presidential race via its incoming “News Tab” feature.

The “News Tab” is a passion project of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and will be operated by what the company describes as “seasoned journalists,” otherwise known as mainstream press hacks. Human editors will choose which stories from which outlets appear on the “News Tab.”

We reported this week:

“The editors will look at articles’ sourcing in deciding what to feature. They’re supposed to ‘seek to promote the media outlet that first reported a particular story, and additionally prioritize stories broken by local news outlets,’” Neiman Labs reported.

Neiman Labs also reported that Facebook will work with preferred news publishers to fill their “News Tab” with stories.

“One person who has seen a version of the tab being tested by Facebook employees said it featured stories from The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, CBS News, National Geographic, BBC, The Huffington Post, and The Hill, though some of those publishers don’t appear to have officially struck agreements with Facebook yet,” the report said.

In other words, the chances that a Breitbart article ever sees the light of day in the “News Tab” is slim to none, allowing Facebook, which has admitted to working with the deep state on “election security” measures, to completely control the news narrative in the run up to the 2020 election. Remember, Facebook is based in the United States, but it is a multinational corporation.

Read More @ LauraLoomer.us