FINALLY: You'll soon be able to 'dislike' things on Facebook, says Mark Zuckerberg
"I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we're working on it and shipping it," Zuckerberg said during a Q&A at Facebook's headquarters.
Zuckerberg said that the social network didn't immediately design way because it didn't want it to become a Reddit-style system of upvoting and downvoting.
"That isn't what we're here to build in the world," Zuckerberg said.
But, Facebook and Zuckerberg have realized that people aren't looking to downvote each other, but to have an option to express feelings other than "liking." Zuckerberg cited moments like the news about the recent refugee crisis or even posts about family members who have died. Users don't want to "like" those items, but right now, have no other option.
"What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment," Zuckerberg said.
Facebook has been working on it for awhile, and it hopes to launch it soon, he said.
"It's surprisingly complicated to make an interaction that will be simple," Zuckerberg said.