Facebook"s crowd-sourced predictions platform called Forecast is now available to everyone in the U.S. and Canada. Forecast was first launched in beta last June by Facebook"s New Product Experimentation (NPE) team.
The service allows users to ask questions around politics, business, sports, and more topics. The community can then discuss current events and make predictions about what could happen in the future. Popular questions at present include: Will there be an electoral tie in the 2020 presidential election? Will the U.S. presidential election be fully or partially postponed?
Forecast will also allow users to search for popular topics. Facebook says there are now more than 37,000 forecasts on hundreds of questions asked by the community since its debut in June. While the community cannot give conclusive answers to questions, the social networking company claims that Forecast "appears to encourage measured, respectful conversation".
For visitors of Forecast"s website, the platform provides an option to make and share their own predictions. Users can also keep track of forecasts over time and share them across various platforms. Facebook noted that all questions, predictions, and discussions must obey its moderation guidelines. Forecast can be accessed by visiting its website or via its iOS app.