SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEMOTING LINKS TO LOW-QUALITY WEBPAGES

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

sampling user-provided links from an online system;

receiving, from at least one human labeler for each of the user-provided links, at least one label indicating whether the human labeler considers a landing page of the user-provided link to be a low-quality webpage;

deriving, from a landing page of each of the user-provided links, landing-page features of the user-provided link;

using the label and the landing-page features of each of the user-provided links to train a model configured to predict a likelihood that a user-provided link is to a low-quality webpage;

identifying user-provided content items that are candidates for a content feed of a user of the online system;

applying the model to a link of each of the user-provided content items to determine a ranking of the user-provided content items; and

displaying the user-provided content items in the content feed of the user based at least in part on the ranking.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein applying the model to determine the ranking of the user-provided content items comprises:

using an additional model to determine an initial ranking for each of the user-provided content items;

using the model to predict, for a link of at least one of the user-provided content items, a relatively higher likelihood of being a link to a low-quality webpage; and

demoting the initial ranking of the at least one of the user-provided content items based on the relatively higher likelihood.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying an additional user-provided content item that is a candidate for the content feed of the user;

using the model to determine a likelihood that a link of the additional user-provided content item is to a low-quality webpage;

determining that the likelihood is above a predetermined threshold; and

refraining from displaying the additional user-provided content item in the content feed of the user based on the likelihood being above the predetermined threshold.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein deriving, from the landing page of each of the user-provided links, the landing-page features of the user-provided link comprises:

identifying an additional model configured to predict, based on text content of a webpage, a likelihood that the webpage would be assigned the label by the human labeler;

scraping text content from the landing page of the user-provided link;

using the additional model to predict a likelihood that the landing page would be assigned the label by the human labeler; and

using the likelihood that the landing page would be assigned the label by the human labeler as one of the landing-page features of the user-provided link.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have less than a threshold level of high-quality content.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have a disproportionate volume of advertisements relative to high-quality content.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have sexually-suggestive content.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have shocking content.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have malicious content.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have deceptive content.

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the landing page of the user-provided link has a pop-up advertisement.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the landing page of the user-provided link has an interstitial advertisement.

13 . A system comprising:

a sampling module, stored in memory, that samples user-provided links from an online system;

a receiving module, stored in memory, that receives, from at least one human labeler for each of the user-provided links, at least one label indicating whether the human labeler considers a landing page of the user-provided link to be a low-quality webpage;

a deriving module, stored in memory, that derives, from a landing page of each of the user-provided links, landing-page features of the user-provided link;

a training module, stored in memory, that uses the label and the landing-page features of each of the user-provided links to train a model configured to predict a likelihood that a user-provided link is to a low-quality webpage;

an identifying module, stored in memory, that identifies user-provided content items that are candidates for a content feed of a user of the online system;

an applying module, stored in memory, that applies the model to a link of each of the user-provided content items to determine a ranking of the user-provided content items;

a displaying module, stored in memory, that displays the user-provided content items in the content feed of the user based at least in part on the ranking; and

at least one physical processor configured to execute the sampling module, the receiving module, the deriving module, the training module, the identifying module, the applying module, and the displaying module.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the applying module applies the model to determine the ranking of the user-provided content items by:

using an additional model to determine an initial ranking for each of the user-provided content items;

using the model to predict, for a link of at least one of the user-provided content items, a relatively higher likelihood of being a link to a low-quality webpage; and

demoting the initial ranking of the at least one of the user-provided content items based on the relatively higher likelihood.

15 . The system of claim 13 , wherein:

the identifying module further identifies an additional user-provided content item that is a candidate for the content feed of the user;

the applying module further uses the model to determine a likelihood that a link of the additional user-provided content item is to a low-quality webpage; and

the displaying module further:

determines that the likelihood is above a predetermined threshold; and

refrains from displaying the additional user-provided content item in the content feed of the user based on the likelihood being above the predetermined threshold.

16 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the deriving module derives, from the landing page of each of the user-provided links, the landing-page features of the user-provided link by:

identifying an additional model configured to predict, based on text content of a webpage, a likelihood that the webpage would be assigned the label by the human labeler;

scraping text content from the landing page of the user-provided link;

using the additional model to predict a likelihood that the landing page would be assigned the label by the human labeler; and

using the likelihood that the landing page would be assigned the label by the human labeler as one of the landing-page features of the user-provided link.

17 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have less than a threshold level of high-quality content.

18 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have a disproportionate volume of advertisements relative to high-quality content.

19 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the label of each of the user-provided links indicates whether the human labeler considers the landing page of the user-provided link to have sexually-suggestive content.

20 . A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

sample user-provided links from an online system;

receive, from at least one human labeler for each of the user-provided links, at least one label indicating whether the human labeler considers a landing page of the user-provided link to be a low-quality webpage;

derive, from a landing page of each of the user-provided links, landing-page features of the user-provided link;

use the label and the landing-page features of each of the user-provided links to train a model configured to predict a likelihood that a user-provided link is to a low-quality webpage;

identify user-provided content items that are candidates for a content feed of a user of the online system;

apply the model to a link of each of the user-provided content items to determine a ranking of the user-provided content items; and

display the user-provided content items in the content feed of the user based at least in part on the ranking.