Fact Check: Can you reset your Facebook feed to get rid of ads?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Are you tired of seeing all the ads on your Facebook feed?

If you believe a post that is circulating on the social media site, there’s a way to reset your feed to get rid of the ads and see more of the posts from your friends. But does it work?

I’ve seen this a lot on the news feeds of Facebook friends. Many claim it worked for them. It says: to regain friends in your news feed and get rid of ads – hold your finger anywhere in this post and click ′copy’. Go to your page where it says ‘what’s on your mind?’ and tap your finger anywhere in the blank field. Click paste. This upgrades the system.

So, will pasting a message in Facebook change the appearance in your feed and block ads so you can see the posts of more of your friends? The short answer is no. I reached out to Facebook through email.

A person with the social media company responded, and while she didn’t give me a direct answer, she did point me to a post in “Snopes”- a website that researches myths, urban legends and misinformation.

It references a 2019 Facebook article, where the company debunked similar recurring pasted posts. It said “Facebook does not set limits on the number of people who appear in your news feed.”

It also provides an explanation as to why you see some friends more frequently and offers advice on how to see more of your other friends’ posts. While you can’t get rid of the ads on your newsfeed, you can get rid of ones you don’t want to see.

Here’s how:

Simply go to your settings, scroll down and tap ad preferences.

You’ll see a list of advertisers appearing in your feed.

Tap “hide ads” for any you don’t want to see.

Copying and pasting text from someone’s newsfeed isn’t going to help you regain friends and get rid of ads. That is false.