Facebook has announced that it will discontinue the ‘News’ section in the UK, France, and Germany at the beginning of December and will focus on short video content.
The decision was made in line with Facebook’s strategy to redirect resources to areas that interest users more, the company claims.
Users visit the platform primarily for social connections and exploring interests, rather than for news and political content, they emphasize.
According to Facebook’s data, informational content accounts for less than three percent of views on the platform globally.
The change will not affect other Meta products and services in the UK, France, and Germany, and users will still be able to access news articles through shared links.
European publishers will retain access to their accounts on Facebook and the ‘Pages’ section, which allows them to post links to content and direct users to websites.
They can also use products such as Reels and the advertising system to reach a wider audience and retain full revenue from links to external sites.
Facebook will honor contracts with publishers in the UK, France, and Germany until they expire but does not plan to enter into new agreements for publishing informational content on Facebook News.
They also state that they are not preparing new products specifically tailored for news publishers, while simultaneously noting that they will persist in connecting users with reliable information.
The company collaborates with independent fact-checkers certified by the International Fact-Checking Network to analyze and assess potential viral misinformation in its applications, they report.
