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Put The News Back In Your Facebook News Feed

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Facebook uses a complex algorithm to decide which posts users see in their news feeds, and that formula changed last week.

According to the social media company, people should now be seeing more updates from their friends and family members and less information from news organizations like, well, us here at KDKA.COM.

But you can change that.

If you know the proper steps to take, you can beat the algorithm, take back control of your news feed and continue to see all of the latest updates from KDKA including breaking news, weather forecasts, live video and trending topics.

Follow the steps below to keep us on the top of your feed.

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Facebook On Your Desktop/Laptop Computer

  1. Visit the KDKA Facebook page and look at the large image at the top of the screen. In the bottom right corner of that image is a button that will say either "Like" or "Liked."
  2. If the button says "Like," then click it once to like our page. (Thanks!)
  3. If the button says "Liked," then you already like our page, which is wonderful. We appreciate your devotion!
  4. Just to the right of the "Like" or "Liked" button is another button with a RSS icon — it looks like a signal strength symbol that's fallen over to its side. Hover over the RSS button to see a list of options for getting our updates. You want to make sure that both "See First" and "On (Live Videos)" have been checked.
  5. The "On (Live Videos)" option notifies you when we go live. If you want to receive other notifications, click on the pencil icon next to the word "Notifications" in order to edit which types of Facebook posts will send you an alert.

Facebook On Your Mobile Device

  1. Visit the KDKA Facebook page on your phone or tablet and look under the large image at the top of the screen, where you will see a row of option icons. The first 0ne will say either "Like" or "Liked."
  2. If the button says "Like," then click it once to like our page. (Thanks!) You will likely then need to reload the page.
  3. If the button says "Liked," then you already like our page, which is wonderful. We appreciate your devotion!
  4. Once you like our page, the second icon will say "Following." Click on that to bring up a list of more options. You want to change the setting to "See First," which will also change the image in the row of icons.
  5. The last icon in the row says "More." Clicking on it will drop down a list of additional settings. Click on "Notifications" to edit which types of Facebook posts will send you an alert. At the very least, you will want "Live Videos" to be checked, so that you know right away when we go live.

These algorithm updates are a standard process for Facebook, as they attempt to decide what users should see in their feed. A past update cut down on clickbait links — those with attention-grabbing headlines that simply do not follow through with their eye-popping promises.

While the latest update takes the news out of news feed, it does not impact the number of advertisements ("sponsored posts") that are shown. There are separate options, however, for hiding the ads and tailoring them to your specific interests.

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