Facebook bug on viewing some external links: work-around?

By Elena Brescacin, 24 October, 2021

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hello,
I don't remember if this issue has already been discussed here, but I am noticing that visually impaired people in my Facebook contacts, are missing information I publish from my personal web site, on my profile and Facebook page, because my posts are intercepted as blank lines not even clickable.
This happens when posts are external link pointing to my WordPress site.
Do you please have any suggestion for a work-around for this issue?
Desktop web site and mobile web site on computer, see them regularly; it's only a problem on iOS and iPadOS applications.
Tell me please if something must be done on WordPress side, or on F side, to solve the issue! I do not have images - publishing a link with an image attached to Facebook post solves the problem, but I have no sighted people capable to create images for me, and I have no idea how to create it independently, a photo with my site's logo and the title of the post, for example.
Thanks!

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Comments

By Mister Kayne on Monday, October 25, 2021 - 04:32

In order to experience this challenge first hand I would want to follow you on Facebook. I would appreciate it if you could send me a friend request search for Mujtaba Merchant, Bangalore INDIA and I will take it from there i.e. validate the challenge and recommend any work arounds if any

By Elena Brescacin on Monday, October 25, 2021 - 04:32

hi, to see the link you may go to www.facebook.com/talksina - latest posts are publicly available.
Sorry the profile is Italian only, so I do not ask or send friend requests to non-italian speaking people if not strictly necessary, i do not want to disturb their home feed with posts they never understand.
The text introducing latest post should be as follows:
***
For Facebook accessibility test - links and work arounds.
this is for test only.
***
Then a link to my personal web site should be viewed.

On iPhone and iPad this post is viewed as a blank line, and flicking right just passes to the other one, which links the Roxette song Almost Unreal - that is correctly viewed.

By Elena Brescacin on Thursday, November 25, 2021 - 04:32

The bug is really weird, as I do not find a way to work around it.
Many WordPress web sites I share links of, are correctly displayed; but not mine!
And I have no plugin annoying there.
If I publish the link pasting the complete URL of article myself, the link is displayed without title or preview, just a https clickable link. But if I let WordPress do its job and share posts automatically, the damage is done.

By Elena Brescacin on Thursday, November 25, 2021 - 04:32

As the subject says, I cannot tell the issue is solved, because it's not.
But at least I have understood why it happens on my WordPress blog and not in others.
Because I did not upload any image on the OpenGraph or whatever it's called, section of my SEO plug-in.
My posts are text, so I did not find useful to upload an image but then I found this tool - https://smallseotools.com/text-to-image/ and tried it out.
So, placing an image -properly labelled- both in featured image and in Social tab on the SEO plugin installed, now it seems to read links properly when I share them on profile and page.
Now, I wonder if there's a way to report bugs to Facebook and then describe step by step the bug - as it's used to do in Apple - in order to help them fix it permanently.