Facebook says it will pay UK publishers for news – now what?

Facebook will pay certain UK publishers to feature stories in a new Facebook News tab beginning in January 2021, but critics fear even more power in the hands of a few.

While headlines blared that millions of pounds from Facebook’s deep coffers would start flowing to cash-strapped publishers, and the Guardian reported that some publishers are privately expecting to make millions from the deal, not everyone believes that Facebook’s editors and model will be the hoped-for boon to news.

• UK publishers including Condé Nast, The Economist, and Reach are signed up to the scheme.
• Details are scant on money, but a key element of the offer is fresh new audiences.
• There is skepticism about a major platform formally controlling the flow of information, and about making publishers even more dependent.

Key quote: “As always, no details, no numbers.” - Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of Oxford University’s Reuters Institute.

Sourced from WARC