Facebook is starting to roll out Facebook News in the UK, a destination in its app featuring curated news from leading news outlets.
After launching in the US last year, Facebook announced that it would soon be rolling out Facebook News in the UK as well. A few months after the initial announcement back in November, Facebook is now starting to roll out the feature to UK users.
Facebook News is described as a “destination within the Facebook app that features news from hundreds of leading national, local and lifestyle outlets” to help put “original journalism in front of new audiences.” Publishers can monetize their content on Facebook News with advertising and subscriptions.
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With the launch of Facebook News in the UK, Facebook is also announcing partnerships with local outlets like Channel 4 News, Daily Mail Group, DC Thomson, Financial Times, Sky News, and Telegraph Media Group.
Many partnerships were already in place, with The Economist, The Guardian, The Independent, STV, and hundreds of local news sites part of Archant, Iliffe, JPI Media, Midlands News Association and Reach, as well as lifestyle news outlets like GQ, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue, and others.
Users in the UK will be able to see top headlines from the day’s stories, personalized to their specific interests, and Facebook News will also provide news digests during major news cycles. At the moment, Facebook News is highlighting some COVID-19-related stories. When people and Pages share news articles, they will continue to appear in Facebook News Feed, as they do today.
Facebook News Key Features
- Today’s stories chosen by a team of journalists to catch up on the latest news as it breaks throughout the day.
- Personalization based on the news people read, share and follow, so they can find new interests and topics from news outlets or publications they haven’t previously followed – creating a fresh and interesting experience every time.
- News sections to dive deeper into business, entertainment, health, science & tech, and sport.
- Controls to make sure users see the articles, topics, or publishers they want to see – and hide those they don’t.
Facebook News will soon be rolling out into other markets like France and Germany, where Facebook says it’s currently negotiating with organizations to partner with.