Los Angeles: To shift focus away from news and politics, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced plans to discontinue the Facebook News feature for users in the United States and Australia. This move follows the feature’s discontinuation in Britain, France, and Germany last year.
The Facebook News tab, launched in 2019, provided a curated selection of news from small and local publications as well as national and international news organizations. While the feature will no longer be available, users will still have access to links leading to news articles. News organizations can continue to post their content and promote their websites, similar to other individuals or organizations.
Meta’s decision to de-emphasize news and political content comes after years of criticism regarding its handling of disinformation on the platform. Despite this change, Meta assures users that its fact-checking network and misinformation review processes will remain unaffected. However, addressing disinformation remains an ongoing challenge for the company, especially as the US presidential election process continues.
