Facebook working on 'dislike' button, Zuckerberg says.

During a live stream event, Facebook's CEO confirmed that they are working on a "dislike" button. Citing years of requests from the user base, Mark Zuckerberg stated they on working on a new tool to fit the role of their "like" button.

                 

A button that lets you express emotions beyond the iconic thumbs up.

Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement Tuesday during a Q&A session streamed live online from Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

Facebook has resisted creating a "dislike" button as a companion to its "like" button, fearing it would sow seeds of discontent on the world's most popular social network.

But in recent years Zuckerberg softened his stance, responding to popular demand from Facebook users who say "like" does not fit certain status updates and situations, say a death in the family or a crisis.

"It's important to give people more options than just 'like'" to help express empathy and sympathy, Zuckerberg said. "Not every moment is a good moment."

Zuckerberg said Facebook is close to unveiling a button or buttons but it's unlikely to be called "dislike." What will likely happen is that Facebook unveils a "sympathize" button or a series of buttons that convey support or solidarity or express other similarly positive emotions. The giant social network encourages civil interactions among its 1.5 billion users.

Facebook said in an emailed statement: "We have nothing to share beyond Mark's comments today."

The possibility of a "dislike" button popped up last December during another Q&A session. In response to a question, Zuckerberg said: "We're thinking about it."

But he made it clear that Facebook was proceeding cautiously and was not giving the concept of a "dislike" button a thumbs up.

Facebook does not want to discourage people from sharing or liking as freely as they do now on Facebook.

source:USAToday