Meta faces backlash for deprioritising trusted news sources on Facebook

In a letter addressed to Meta’s president, Sir Nick Clegg, critics argue that these changes are detrimental to trusted news sources and pose a significant risk to democratic information access, especially with a pending general election.
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is under scrutiny as CEO of the News Media Association (NMA), Owen Meredith, and Reach CEO and NMA chair, Jim Mullen, accuse the social media giant of undermining trustworthy news outlets.

In a letter addressed to Meta’s president, Sir Nick Clegg, Meredith and Mullen expressed their concerns about the diminishing prominence of authoritative news in Facebook’s newsfeed, emphasising the potential threat to democracy and the financial impact on the media industry.

Meta’s recent policy changes, which have reduced the prominence of news content, have sparked resistance from publishers. While Meta contends that its users are primarily interested in social connections rather than news, Meredith and Mullen counter this argument by highlighting Facebook’s critical role as a news discovery platform for millions of users. This controversy also highlights the challenges publishers face in reducing their reliance on social media platforms for audience reach.

Why does it matter?

Meta’s decision to deprioritise news content within its newsfeed algorithm has significant repercussions for publishers and the general public’s access to reliable news sources. Diminishing the significance of news content seems to be a prevailing trend embraced by Meta. Interestingly, this aligns with the proactive approach taken by the company, given that various nations like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have introduced or are considering introducing regulations aimed at compelling digital platforms to compensate media outlets for their news content.