Fact Check: FB algorithm does not limit number of users who can view your News Feed

According to the claim, Facebook's algorithm allows the same people, around 25 of them, to view your posts. It further says that if a user copies the contents of the viral post and posts it on their timeline, then they can change the Facebook algorithm and they will be able to see posts of new people instead of just old friends.

Fact Check:

The claim is false as no such algorithm has been introduced by Facebook.

NewsMeter found that the same claim was viral in 2018, 2019, and 2020. It has become viral again despite it being debunked several times.

NewsMeter found a report by the official Facebook team that had debunked the claim in 2019. The FB team had said that though multiple publications have debunked this post, it continues to persist. "So, to clear things up: No, Facebook does not set a limit on the number of people whose posts are shown in your News Feed," it had added.

Ramya Sethuraman, a product manager who works on ranking, said, "The idea that News Feed only shows you posts from a set number offriends is a myth."

The Indian Express had also debunked the claim on 7 February2019. "Facebook's News Feed algorithm is not limiting what you see to just posts from 26 friends. The social media giant has even issued a long post debunking the claim, which has been incidentally shared extensively on the network. The meme claims that "Facebook's 'new algorithm' is limiting the number of people whose posts show up in your News Feed, usually pegging the number at just 25 or 26 people," read the report.

Evidently, the claim is false as no such algorithm has been introduced by Facebook.