Facebook shut down its Graph Search service in June of last year due to privacy issues. The feature allowed users to find a treasure trove of information such as names of people, places, and photos using specific keywords.
Now, a new report indicates Facebook has piloted a new feature that displays information from Wikipedia when you look for something through its search bar (via TechCrunch). The factual information will appear on a side panel to the right of the search results so that users won't have to switch to a new tab in order to view that information. In addition to article snippets from Wikipedia, the service also shows relevant information from its existing features. For example, when you search for "COVID-19," Facebook Search will surface data from its COVID-19 Information Center at the top of the results instead of an information box to the right-side panel.
The feature, however, does not always appear to recognize certain search keys. For example, when you look for “anthony fauci,” it returns a relevant Wikipedia result but searching for only “dr. fauci” does not provide the same information. Facebook confirmed that it is piloting the tool on its mobile web, iOS app, and desktop versions, though it's not clear when it will be released to the public..
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