If you’re not sick of hearing about the presidential election and what your friends think about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, you’re going to love what Facebook’s doing now. The social networking company now lets users publicly endorse their candidate of choice. The feature is not just for the highest office in the U.S., it also lets you endorse candidates for less-publicized races, such as Congress and local elections.
First reported by The Next Web, the endorsement feature has quietly rolled out to users. In order to make your mark, go to the candidate’s Page, select the endorsement tab, click or tap on “endorse,” and write a message about why you’re doing it. Of course, be sure to check your privacy settings because if you make your post publicly available, it could appear on the candidate’s Page, depending on whether it meets the Page administrator’s standards.
Only Pages in the “politician,” “political candidate,” or “government official” category are eligible to receive endorsements.
“This feature allows anyone on Facebook to show their support for a candidate by writing and sharing an ‘endorsement’ explaining why they support them,” explained a Facebook spokesperson in a statement to VentureBeat. “This is a good way for people to voice their support for a candidate — if they so choose — and learn more about where their friends and family stand.”
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
The company stressed that users aren’t limited to candidates in national races, so feel free to endorse your favorite candidate for the Board of Education, Supervisors, City Council, Superior Court judge, Secretary of State, Governor, and more.
Although the current U.S. election is the talk of the town, it’s not far-fetched to think that this feature would become available internationally. However, right now, the endorsement feature is only available for U.S. candidate Pages, though anyone worldwide can post their endorsement.
Endorsements can often influence people in deciding which way to vote. While the traditional model is to have celebrities, major political leaders, and organizations offer their endorsements, in an age when peer recommendations are increasingly important, some voters may be swayed by endorsements from like-minded friends and family.
And while you’re getting active endorsing candidates (or hiding posts from people posting endorsements in your News Feed), if you’re a U.S. citizen, make sure you’re registered to vote and that you actually do it on November 8.
