Facebook confirms a ‘dislike’ button is coming — but it’s not what you think

(Photo: CNN)

Posted: Sep 15, 2015 / 01:30 PM MDT

Updated: Sep 15, 2015 / 01:30 PM MDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

SAN FRANCISCO — During a live Q-and-A session at Facebook headquarters on Tuesday, founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company is working on a “dislike” button.

Zuckerberg acknowledged people have been asking for a dislike button for several years. This is the first time the company has admitted the button is in development.

“People have asked about the ‘dislike’ button for many years… and probably hundreds of people have asked about this. Today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it,” Zuckerberg said.

“Not every moment is a good moment,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg was also clear that the button won’t be designed to express negative thoughts, but rather “expressing empathy.” The “dislike” button will not be for upvoting or downvoting comments and posts.

“What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg said the feature could launch “soon.”