For the first time, the offer is now also available in German-speaking countries. The cooperation with the 35 media houses pays off, they are paid for the linking of content.
It's the fight against fake news on Facebook. The platform that, along with YouTube and the WhatsApp service belonging to the company, is largely responsible for the spread of false information. With "Facebook News" one wants to counteract this and is now also setting up a separate area for journalistic content in Germany. A news aggregator as already known from Apple and Google News. It's not just about fact-based news, it's also about money.
In "Facebook News", a selection of news content from currently 35 publishers with more than 100 media brands will be presented in the app and on the website of the online giant.
"With "Facebook News" we want to make more quality journalism available to people on our platform and at the same time offer publishers more monetization opportunities," said Facebook manager Jesper Doub.
Available in the US since 2019
"Facebook News" was launched in the US in October 2019. The service will start in the UK in early 2021. Germany is now the third country in the world where Facebook and publishers cooperate in this way. The service will be available to users in Germany in the course of the day.
On Monday, the Axel Springer media group surprisingly announced that it would be on board with "Facebook News" as part of a comprehensive international cooperation. New to the current list of cooperation partners is the Südwestdeutsche Medienholding ("Süddeutsche Zeitung", "Stuttgarter Nachrichten" and "Stuttgarter Zeitung").
"Personalization" included
With "Facebook News", the media companies are paid for linking content that was not previously visible on the platform. However, they do not have to be produced specifically for Facebook. The space will feature breaking news headlines selected by a team of journalists to bring the latest news to Facebook users.
With the help of algorithms, "Facebook News" will also offer personalized content. This selection is based on the messages that users read, share and subscribe to. "It allows them to discover new interests and topics from their favorite media or publications that they haven't followed before," Doub said. The network also offers traditional sections (business, entertainment, health, science & technology and sports) in "Facebook News". The offer also includes so-called collections. These are special subject areas that are created depending on the situation. There is currently a Covid-19 collection.
(bagre/APA)
