‘No politics’ tool seeks to keep media ‘social’

WASHINGTON—For people fed up with politics on their social Web feeds as the US election race hots up —online and elsewhere—in its final few weeks, help is on the way.

A browser extension called “no politics please” at https://www.noppl.com/ is designed to work to filter out unwanted content on Facebook, says creator Kevin Faul.

“I’m not anti-politics but on Facebook people are looking for a more pleasurable experience,” he told AFP.

“It seems like Facebook was starting to get overrun with political posts. I think people want Facebook to be a friendly place.”

Faul, who is a vice president of product management for the three-dimension technology firm Real D, developed the program in his spare time.

“It wasn’t intended to be a money-making project,” he said. “I’ve gotten a huge positive response. People are saying this is a great tool.”

As of now, the extension is only for Facebook, although Faul said he may work on tools for other social media such as Twitter.

He said the tool could have broader applications because it enables users to deselect items, political or otherwise.

“This can filter out any topic whether it’s an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend or a TV show,” he said. “The filter is flexible.”