In today’s top story, Facebook announced a test rollout of the new feature called Facebook News. Conceived as the dedicated space for news and reporting, Facebook News will feature daily Today’s Stories, interest topics, space for paid subscriptions, and personalized news feeds.
Sounds pretty good! It is heartening to see Facebook consulting with the industry prior to launching Facebook News. It is also encouraging to learn that a human editorial team will be prescreening the Today’s Stories section — something that the long-gone Trending tab (often populated by inflammatory clickbait) sorely lacked.
Facebook News was built to bring people closer to the stories that affect their lives… We hope this work aids in our effort to sustain great journalism and strengthen democracy.
Facebook Newsroom
That sounds nice, but with recent blowouts of public trust, it will take a lot to convince the audience that Facebook truly has its users’ best interests in mind. The claim of “strengthening democracy” is a bold one indeed.
Facebook News will roll out gradually to a subset of users in the U.S.
