Facebook News tab will soon be unavailable for US users from next month: Report

Meta has announced that the Facebook News feature will be phased out in the United States and Australia from early April. This decision is consistent with Meta's recent strategy to deprioritse news and politics on its platforms. The same step was taken in UK, France, and Germany last year.

The News tab, which debuted in 2019, consolidated headlines from myriad national and international media outlets along with smaller local publications for effortless access by users.

However, Meta assures users they will retain their ability to follow links to news articles. Furthermore, news agencies can continue posting and publicizing their stories or websites akin to any other individual or establishment on Facebook.

The change comes as Meta tries to scale back news and political content on its platforms following years of criticism about how it handles misinformation and whether it contributes to political polarisation.

"This change does not impact posts from accounts people choose to follow; it impacts what the system recommends, and people can control if they want more," Dani Lever, a Meta spokesperson, said as quoted by news agency AP. "This announcement expands on years of work on how we approach and treat political content based on what people have told us they wanted."

Meta said the change to the News tab does not affect its fact-checking network and review of misinformation.

But misinformation remains a challenge for the company, especially as the US presidential election and other races get underway.

Meta has disclosed that global users are exposed to a mere fraction of news content, accounting for less than 3 per cent of their overall Facebook feeds. Furthermore, there was an observed decline exceeding 80 per cent in the usage of Facebook News among Australian and American audiences within the previous year.

However, findings from a comprehensive study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2023 indicate divergent trends. This research suggests that social media platforms significantly contribute to the way adults in the United States stay informed, with nearly half relying on these channels frequently or occasionally for their news updates. 

Of all social media outlets analyzed in this research, Facebook demonstrated a clear predominance - confirming it as a go-to source for regular news updates among three out of ten US adult users. Instagram too exhibited its potential as an emerging major channel for providing news updates with around 16% of US adults depending upon it routinely.

Instagram also falls under Meta's portfolio like Facebook.