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Google Search has begun showing like counts for articles displayed within the Discover feed on Android. However, the change appears to be part of a limited rollout, so it’s only visible to a few users now.
The change was first reported by 9to5Google, with the screenshot below showing the positioning of the like count. Like counts are based on the number of users who have liked that particular article on the Discover feed. From a practical point of view, the like counts make sense as they illustrate the popularity of a particular article on the feed.
Of course, the like or heart button is an evolution of the simpler upvote/downvote button on the Discover feed. This was more of a feedback system to improve the feed’s recommendations. Google eventually renamed the downvote button to an option called “Not interested in this” and moved it within a separate menu. So all that remains now is the like or heart button to indicate the popularity of a particular video or article.
Google recently introduced a “highly cited” label for frequently quoted articles
Tapping the like button also helps curate your individual Discover feed. But making the like count public is certainly new. Fortunately, the likes are anonymous, so users can’t see the people who have liked a particular slide or article. Since there’s no social media angle to Google’s services anymore (RIP Google+), this is a simplistic way of showcasing trending topics.
As 9to5Google points out, this could offer a decent boost to content generated by smaller publications. This appears to be a part of a news feed experiment, which explains why Google hasn’t put out a statement about the new change. With this in mind, it’s hard to chart out a timeline for the feature’s wider availability. Hopefully, we’ll have more information on like counts in the weeks ahead.
Google recently announced a new “highly cited” label for articles within the Top stories section on Search. The company said it would “identify stories that have been frequently cited by other news organizations” to determine which article gets the highly cited label. This was part of Google’s efforts to curb the menace of misinformation, particularly relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
