BOOSTING RANKS OF STORIES BY A NEEDY USER ON A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM

A social networking system generates a newsfeed for a user to view when accessing the social networking system. Candidate stories associated with users of the social networking selection are selected for inclusion in the newsfeed. Based on data associated with users associated with candidate stories, the social networking system determines a neediness value for the users associated with the candidate stories. The neediness value of a user indicates a degree of assistance by the social networking system to distribute content associated with the user. For users indicated as "needy users" based on their neediness values, the social networking system modifies the location of candidate stories associated with needy users in a ranking of the candidate stories.