Social media platform Facebook will be releasing a curated news portal that effectively filters the news that reaches users' screens.
The new feature is called Facebook News. It will now carry all news articles that may be shared on the platform, separate from the app's main timeline.
Its developers say that the feature will use both algorithms and user input.
The news tab will feature content related to articles users usually consume. They can also find news categorized in different topics, helping users choose the kind of content they want to see. Users could link their subscriptions from news providers so that they could read articles without leaving Facebook.
Finally, a group of journalists will be curating a section called "Today's Stories", which is meant to keep you up to date to events that may concern you throughout the day.
Any content that a user doesn't want to see could also be reported such that they won't see any similar content in the future.
Getting the News Across
Naturally, there are guidelines in getting your content to appear on the Facebook News tab. There are certain rules on integrity, fact-checking, and rules related to Facebook's community standards that publishers will have to abide to.
Publishers and outlets that pass Facebook's standards will be included in the platform's News Page Index.
News articles that are deemed to be misleading, clickbait, or are deemed guilty of spreading misinformation or hate speech will not be allowed on the platform.
A group of moderators will be making sure that the content on the news tab abides Facebook's community standards. The rules that the moderators will base their decisions on will be publicly available.
Revamping the News Platform
Facebook News replaces the Trending News section of the platform, a feature that was discontinued in 2016.
Critics have called out Facebook for censoring conservative content on its platform. Although Facebook denied the claims, they nonetheless took steps to strengthen its platform's news reporting.
Another critique of Facebook's current handling of news media is that it helps in the proliferation of fake news and propaganda.
Meanwhile, the new platform is also already under fire, in spite of still being tested. According to a report by the Financial Times, Facebook compensates its news publishers differently. News outlets like Condé Nast and Dow Jones were to receive compensation from Facebook for using their content. Still, news outlets like Reuters and the Associated Press claim that they have not been offered any form of compensation.
Spreading the News
Just like any other new feature that Facebook rolls out, Facebook News will first be tested in select locations. This includes metro areas with large populations such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas Fort-Worth, Philadelphia, and Houston. In the following weeks, Facebook News will feature local stories from more than 6,000 towns and cities across the United States.
Facebook's team says that they will continue to improve the application of the new platform as they roll the service out to a broader audience.
