Meta to Stop Paying US Publishers for News Content

Facebook’s parent company Meta is telling its U.S. publishing partners that the company will no longer pay for news content that aggregates on Facebook’s News tab. Facebook’s News tab and Bulletin newsletters will be put on the back burner as Meta moves forward with investing in AI-based video experiences on Facebook and Instagram. News publishers can still push content on Facebook, according to reporting from Axios. In 2019, in a $105 million three-year deal, Facebook began paying news outlets for stories that appeared in the News tab. The company also hired journalists and spent an additional $90 million on news videos for a video tab called Watch. "A lot has changed since we signed deals three years ago to test bringing additional news links to Facebook News in the U.S.," a Meta spokesperson told Adweek, admitting the experiment was not a success for the social media giant. "Most people do not come to Facebook for news, and as a business, it doesn't make sense to over-invest in areas that don't align with user preferences." As Adweek's Mark Stenberg reported earlier this month, traffic and engagement from Facebook to news sites has been on the decline. "This decision is perplexing," said Danielle Coffey, evp and general counsel at News Media Alliance. “Quality news content is clearly the antidote to misinformation. If you can force people into giving you something for free, why pay for it?" Prior to the News tab in 2019, the company prioritized friends' content on a person’s feed over brands and publishers, after which the company spent more than $10 million on its news partnership with The Wall Street Journal, more than $3 million on its deal with CNN and more than $20 million with The New York Times. The partnerships also unlocked some paywalled content. Other territories have put the heat on Facebook for demanding payment to media companies for publishing stories. The company launched a news fund to pay local publishers in Australia after a lengthy debate with regulators. Similarly, Canada said it would force Facebook and Google to pay for news content. The U.S. is following suit with federal law, called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, to reform how small publishers can get fair compensation from tech giants for their news content. The bill is expected to be presented to the House of Representatives soon. Meta, which earlier this week reported a drop in revenue for the first time in Q2, will also sunset investments in other projects like audio. Facebook News will continue in the U.K., France, Germany and Australia where current deals remain unchanged. To Ward Off Regulation, Social Platforms Agree to Self-Police Content

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Meta to Stop Paying US Publishers for News Content

Tech giant also moving away from audio in shift to short-form video

Trishla Ostwal

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Trishla Ostwal