Facebook’s push to bring more local news to your feed is getting likes from the industry.
On Monday, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg announced a plan to prioritize posts from high-quality local news sources based on user feedback to get more information about what’s happening in their community
TVB, a broadcast trade association released a statement supporting the move. “The actions taken by Facebook to prioritize local news publishers—including local television broadcasters— over national media was driven by direct feedback from its user base and the Company’s overall strategy to reduce false news and misinformation,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB President and CEO. “Facebook’s commitment to feature more local news on its platform reaffirms broadcasters’ important role in serving as trusted, relied upon resources for essential community news and information.”
Patch, a hyperlocal digital news platform, also commented on the change.
“This decision shows that Zuckerberg and Facebook are serious about following through on their commitment to support meaningful interactions that build community. Every platform also understands that local content creates extremely high engagement. When local news publishers do their jobs, we’re every bit as relevant to a Facebook user’s life as a post from a friend.”
Facebook’s plan features more high quality news in the wake of fake news surfacing on the social network.