A review has found that most Facebook shares are from people who have not read the story.

A deep dive into Facebook activity from 2017 to 2020 suggests three-quarters of all articles shared on the platform are passed along without the sharers having clicked to read them. 

The trend, dubbed “shares without clicks” (SwoCs), shows that many users interact with content based on headlines or short blurbs alone. 

Extreme or politically charged stories see even higher rates of this behaviour, amplifying the issue.  

The analysis reviewed over 35 million public posts containing shared links. 

Politically conservative sources dominated the unread shares, making up between 76 per cent and 82 per cent of the dataset. Researchers found that conservatives were responsible for 76.94 per cent of these links being shared without being read, while liberals accounted for just 14.25 per cent.  

Interestingly, the findings suggest that this pattern is driven by people seeking to confirm their own beliefs. 

Partisan content, especially those with bold or polarising headlines, attracts clicks - or rather, shares - without necessarily engaging readers with the full story. 

This raises questions about how much of Facebook's viral news culture is built on skimmed impressions rather than thoughtful consumption.  

The study’s authors pointed out that such habits have consequences beyond the platform, particularly for public discourse. 

When disinformation or oversimplified narratives spread so quickly, the chances for informed political debate diminish. 

They suggest that social media companies consider changes to encourage more deliberate engagement with news articles, a step that could help balance the scales in an increasingly polarised digital space.  

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