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Facebook is testing a new "downvote" button that will allow people to hide comments and provide feedback on them.

However, the social network denied that the new feature was a "dislike" button, which many Facebook users have requested.

The downvote button is being tested by a small number of US users.

The company also announced a number of other measures aimed at improving the Facebook community.

The social network confirmed the test to news site Tech Crunch .

"We are exploring a feature for people to send us feedback on comments on public posts. This only applies to a small group of people in the U.S.," the company said in a statement.

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Other social sites such as Reddit have a "downvote" option that reduces the visibility of unpopular posts.

When the Facebook downvote button is clicked, the selected comment is hidden. People can decide whether to mark a post as "offensive", "misleading" or "off-topic".

However, it does not affect the visibility of the publication to others and does not affect its ranking in the newsfeed.

Responsibility

Martin Garner, technology analyst at CCS Insight, said the button appeared to be part of Facebook's continued resistance to tagging itself as a publisher.

"It has become very clear that Mark Zuckerberg does not want Facebook to have the responsibility of identifying what is offensive or misleading, and what is not, because that would put it in the position of being a publisher rather than a platform," he said. he said. said.

"He doesn't want to do that, as he takes the business in a different direction, so he relies on the community to do that.

"It's an open question whether that's the right answer or not, but that's where it fits."

On Friday, the company also announced that it would double the number of engineers it employs in London to develop solutions to the problems facing Facebook.

It declined to share how many additional engineers it was hiring, but said the move was an investment to "remove bad content from the platform."

"Whether it's scamming, bullying, harassment or fake news, they will work with experts to understand the problem, identify the pattern and build a solution," said Facebook's Chris Cox.

Cash for causes

It also announced a $ 10 million (£7 million) fund that it will give away to community groups in an attempt to address political "polarization."

"Non-political communities such as churches, sports groups, parent groups, dog walkers: these are the natural antidote to polarization," Mr. Cox said.

"One of the best things we can do is help people meet other people who are not like them. Groups are most effective when they bring people together offline. They are an opportunity for people to create more of what they share."

Facebook groups will be able to apply for a share of the fund. Five community leaders will receive $ 1 million (or about £715,000 in the UK) to promote their causes.

Up to 100 additional groups will receive up to $ 50,000 (or £35,000 in the UK).

"We're looking for high-impact ideas that bring people together," Mr. Cox said.