If you’ve noticed your Facebook feed filling up with posts from celebrity pages or fan groups that you don’t follow or interact with, you’re not alone. Many Facebook users have reported seeing an influx of celebrity content in their feeds without intentionally following those pages. There are a few potential reasons why this might be happening.
How the Facebook Algorithm Works
First, it helps to understand generally how the Facebook news feed algorithm works. Facebook has access to tons of data about each user’s interests, behaviors, demographics, and connections. They use all of this data to populate each person’s unique news feed with content they think will be most relevant and engaging to that individual user. So Facebook may determine you have an interest in certain celebrities based on your activity and show you more of their content as a result.
Some of the types of data Facebook might use to infer your interests include:
- Pages and accounts you’ve liked or followed
- Posts and accounts you frequently interact with (reacting, commenting, sharing, etc)
- Things you post or share yourself
- Advertisers you’ve engaged with
- Pages friends have liked or interacted with
- Demographics like age, location, gender, job, education
Facebook is constantly tracking this type of activity and tuning your feed to serve you content it believes you have an interest in. Sometimes those assumptions can be off-base, resulting in celebrity content you may not have expressly shown interest in.
You Have Mutual Friends Who Like Celeb Pages
Another reason celebrity posts can end up in your feed is through mutual friend connections. If you have friends or followers who like, follow or actively engage with celebrity pages or fan groups, Facebook’s algorithm may show you some of that content based on the idea you might be interested in things your friends are interested in. Even just one mutual connection liking or commenting on a celeb post might be enough for Facebook to assume some relevance and put it in your feed occasionally.
You Liked Something Related in the Past
Facebook has a long memory when it comes to your past activity, and will continue assuming you’re interested in something indefinitely once you’ve shown an interest. So even if you liked a celebrity page years ago that you’re no longer interested in, Facebook may still be promoting posts from that page in your feed periodically based on the past engagement. Same thing if you’ve liked just a single post from a celebrity account in the past – Facebook may see that one like as an implicit interest and continue showing you more.
You Fit a Demographic Celebs Are Targeting
Celebrities, their PR teams and agents are constantly trying to expand their audience and reach on social media. Many celebrities explicitly target their posts toward specific demographics that are known fans. So you may see an increase in celebrity content simply because you fit a demographic (age, gender, location etc) that a celebrity is actively marketing to, even if you have no direct interest yourself.
Celebs Are Paying for More Exposure
Like any business, celebrities can pay Facebook to increase the reach and exposure of their posts through advertising. Celebrities with new projects to promote have extra incentive to get their content and messaging in front of more eyes. Some of what you’re seeing could be the result of celebrities and their teams running paid campaigns to boost the distribution of their posts and get in front of demographics they want to reach.
Fan Groups Sharing Viral Content
Many celebrity fan groups actively share viral content related to celebrities as it spreads across Facebook. Even if you aren’t part of those groups yourself, if people in your extended network interact with viral celebrity posts it can cause Facebook to surface them in your feed as well. Celebrities going viral can expose their content to whole new audiences that weren’t even seeking it out.
You Recently Visited a Celeb’s Profile or Site
If you’ve recently visited a celebrity’s Facebook profile, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, website, or any other online content directly, Facebook’s algorithm may take that as a strong signal of interest. Any direct interaction with a celebrity’s online presence indicates intent to see more content from them. So Facebook will likely respond by showing you more of what you clearly wanted to see.
Facebook’s Ad Targeting
Facebook not only tracks your activity within its platforms, but also much of your activity across the wider web using tools like the Facebook pixel on external sites. Facebook may have determined you visited celebrity or entertainment websites outside Facebook, and target celeb content to you as a result. The more Facebook knows about your off-platform activity, the more incentive they have to keep you engaged on Facebook.
You Fit a Lookalike Audience
Facebook offers “lookalike audience” ad targeting, where advertisers can ask Facebook to find new potential customers who share qualities with existing ones. Celebrities may be using lookalike targeting to reach new people similar to their existing audiences and fans. So you may see their content simply because Facebook has categorized you as resembling known fans based on your demographics and online activity.
Facebook’s Attention Metrics
Facebook closely tracks how long you spend looking at posts, how quickly you scroll past them, and other attention metrics. If Facebook detects you tend to pay more attention to celebrity content, it will pick up on that signal and show you more of it to keep you engaged on the platform. More celebrity posts = more time spent on Facebook = more ad opportunities for Facebook.
In-Feed Sponsored Content
Facebook allows advertisers to sponsor posts directly in user feeds that look very similar to normal posts. Some of the celebrity content appearing in your feed may actually be subtle in-feed ads from celeb pages you don’t follow, disguised as posts from friends or groups you’re part of. Facebook tends to assume if you engage with the in-feed ads, you want to see more of that content.
Facebook’s Close Friends Feature
Facebook has a Close Friends feature that automatically shows you posts from accounts you interact with most, regardless of follows or likes. If you have friends or family members who actively follow and engage with celebrities, their activity may result in celeb posts appearing in your Close Friends feed even if you don’t care to see them.
Facebook’s Suggested/Recommended Posts
Alongside posts from people and pages you expressly follow, Facebook inserts “Suggested” or “Recommended” posts into feeds that aren’t based on explicit connections. Many celebrity posts appearing out of nowhere are likely coming from this pool of content Facebook specifically chooses to recommend you based on their data about your perceived interests and likelihood to engage.
Facebook Likes to Mix It Up
Some celebrity content enters your Facebook feed simply to add variety. Facebook research has found feeds that feel too homogeneous or repetitive lead to lower engagement over time. So Facebook will intentionally mix some random content you haven’t expressly asked for into your feed to make it feel more lively and less static.
How to See Less Celebrity Content
If celebrity posts in your Facebook feed feel irrelevant and you want to see less of them, there are some steps you can take to filter them out:
- Unlike or unfollow celebrity pages so Facebook stops seeing likes as implicit interest
- Actively snooze or unfollow friends who interact with celebrity pages a lot
- Make liberal use of the “Hide Post” option on celebrity posts in your feed
- Be choosy with your own likes, shares and reactions to signal your real interests
- Limit ad targeting via Facebook privacy settings if you’re uncomfortable with it
Facebook’s algorithms are complex and always evolving. But by being selective with your own activity and judicious with feedback on irrelevant posts, over time you can train Facebook to show you more of what you really care about.
Conclusion
In summary, some of the most common reasons you may be seeing more celebrity content on Facebook include:
| Reason | Description |
|---|---|
| Facebook algorithm | Surfaces content based on perceived interests |
| Mutual friends | Friends like/follow celeb pages and content |
| Past activity | You previously liked or followed a celebrity |
| Targeted demographics | You fit an audience celebs want to reach |
| Paid promotion | Celebs boost posts via advertising |
| Viral content | Fan groups sharing trending posts |
| Recent visits | You directly visited a celeb’s site or profile |
| Ad targeting | Based on your external site visits |
| Lookalike audiences | You resemble known celeb fans |
| Attention metrics | You spend more time on celeb posts |
| In-feed sponsored posts | Paid posts disguised as organic content |
| Close Friends | Shows frequently interacted accounts |
| Suggested posts | Content specifically recommended to you |
| Content variety | Facebook mixes up feed content |
But by being more selective with your activity and using tools like snoozing or hiding posts, you can train Facebook’s algorithm over time to reduce celebrity content that you haven’t expressly shown interest in.