SAN FRANCISCO — Coming soon to Facebook: a button that lets you express ‘dislike’ or emotions beyond the iconic thumbs up.

Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement Tuesday during a Q&A session streamed live online from Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

Facebook had resisted creating a “dislike” button as a companion to its “like” button, fearing it would sow seeds of discontent on the world’s most popular social network.

But in recent years Zuckerberg softened his stance, responding to popular demand from Facebook users who say “like” does not fit certain status updates and situations, say a death in the family or a crisis.

“It’s important to give people more options than just ‘like'” to help express empathy and sympathy, Zuckerberg said. “Not every moment is a good moment.”

Zuckerberg said Facebook is close to unveiling the “dislike” button. What may happen is that Facebook unveils a “sympathize” button or a series of buttons that convey support or solidarity or express other similarly positive emotions. The giant social network encourages civil interactions among its 1.5 billion users.

Read the article “Facebook Working on ‘Dislike’ Button, Mark Zuckerberg Says” on usatoday.com.