Facebook takes on a bigger role in journalism

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Facebook is launching a journalism project aimed at strengthening its ties with media organizations to help them expand their audiences, come up with new products and generally promote trusted news in today’s “post-truth” era.

The project is in its early stages and as such, light on specifics. But the company envisions Facebook engineers working with news organizations to create new ways of telling stories and novel advertising or subscription models, right from the early stages of development. The company also wants to promote “news literacy” and support local news.

The move suggests Facebook is starting to accept its outsized influence over how people get their news, even if it’s not a traditional publisher itself. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 40 percent of American adults get news on Facebook.

It follows the company’s announcement last month that it is taking new measures to curb the spread of fake and misleading news on its huge and influential network. Facebook acknowledges that its efforts to fight fake news, such as by making it easier for users to report false articles and working with outside fact-checkers to debunk such stories, are still early.

The journalism project’s goal is to increase transparency and help Facebook figure out its role in news, Facebook product director Fidji Simo said.