What you need to know
- Facebook News is now available in the UK.
- It's a new tab that brings local and national news all under one new tab.
- Facebook has also announced partnerships with many new outlets including the Financial Times.
Facebook has this week rolled out its Facebook news tab to users in the UK.
In a press release Monday Facebook stated:
Later today, across the UK we will begin rolling out Facebook News, a destination within the Facebook app that features news from hundreds of leading national, local, and lifestyle outlets. The product puts original journalism in front of new audiences and provides publishers with more advertising and subscription opportunities to build sustainable businesses for the future. This is the beginning of a series of international investments in news.
Facebook says that Facebook News will let people in the UK see top headlines and stories of the day alongside personalized news tailored to their interest. Facebook News also provides digests during particular news cycles, "highlighting original and authoritative reporting on the biggest stories":
For example, we're currently highlighting a collection of COVID-19-specific stories, giving people access to timely and relevant news and information about the pandemic.
Facebook News also lets people control what news stories they see in the app, and lets them explore news on different topics from a variety of outlets. The rollout will not change the function of news articles shared by people and pages, which will continue to appear on your feed as normal. Facebook is also extending its Community News Project:
As we invest more in news and pay publishers for more content in more countries, we will work with them to support the long term viability of newsrooms. We also recently announced we're extending the Community News Project for another year. The £2.25 million annual training fund in partnership with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) trained reporters in 80 local newsrooms across the UK, building on the initial £4.5 million investment.
Facebook News also looks to be coming to both France and Germany, where Facebook says it is in active negotiations with partners.
