You can now endorse a presidential candidate on Facebook
Facebook is seeking endorsements for the next president of the United States.
Facebook users can now go to the official Facebook pages of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and select "Endorse."
The new feature launched on Tuesday and has instructions that can be found here on Facebook's official Help Center.
You May Also Like
Facebook users can choose to show the endorsement publicly -- to all of Facebook's 1.71 billion monthly active users -- which will then appear on the candidates' Facebook page. Or, they can choose to show to only friends on the network.
Clinton has 7.2 million likes on her Facebook page. Trump has 11.5 million likes on his page. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein also have the new feature on their pages.
Just in case liking Facebook pages, writing political rants and commenting on other people's posts about your love or hate of the 2016 election, Facebook is now asking for an official tally.
Facebook also added an "issues" tab to the pages of the candidates. When clicked, a list of topics appears that can be selected. Each topic features selected quotes and videos addressing each issue.
This isn't the first time we've seen Facebook entrench itself into the 2016 election. Just last week, it was revealed that Facebook's voter registration push from Sept. 23 to 26 aligned with a significant increase in the actual number of people who registered to vote.
This election has already seen some of the highest levels of conversation on Facebook. It was the most talked about topic in 2015, Facebook announced in December.
In am email, a Facebook spokesperson said:
This feature allows anyone on Facebook to show their support for a candidate by writing and sharing an 'endorsement' explaining why they support them. This is a good way for people to voice their support for a candidate - if they so choose - and learn more about where their friends and family stand. The post will appear on the candidate's page under the Endorsements tab and as a News Feed post with the privacy settings specified by each person. Public endorsements appear on a candidate’s page if they choose to list them.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
