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The Facebook Dislike Button Is On Its Way

By Melony Roy

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Facebook is working a "dislike" button, finally giving users one of the most frequently requested features.

During a question and answer session on Tuesday, Facebook's founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg, revealed the social network is building a "dislike" button for its posts.

"People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and 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," he said.

In the past, Facebook has resisted the notion of a dislike button, saying it preferred to encourage positive interactions among its 1.5 billion users.

Zuckerberg says the new feature will allow people to "express empathy" with their Facebook friends, "If you are sharing something that is sad...then it may not feel comfortable to 'like' that post."

He added the dislike interaction is "surprisingly complicated" to create, but Facebook thinks it will soon begin testing before a wider roll out.

Zuckerberg will host another townhall-style Q&A later this month. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest and the two will discuss how communities can work together to address social and economic challenges.

Townhall Q&A: September 15, 2015

Here's the video from today's Townhall Q&A at Facebook. People from around the world asked questions about education, science, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, my future daughter and of course the dislike button. It was great to hear everyone's questions and feedback. Thanks for watching!

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, September 15, 2015

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