Most of the social media sites are trying their level best to eradicate social injustice in every possible way. They are using every possible means to check the spread of racial discrimination. The recent incident of George Floyd killing has instigated the social media to come out with strong protests. Facebook is launching its revamped news tab in the US, reports TechCrunch, and the launch will include a dedicated local news section among other topics, including a George Floyd-specific section. The tab can only be found on mobile right now only by tapping the hamburger menu, selecting “see more,” and sifting through a handful of other sections. It was first tested starting last October, and Facebook said at the time it would be paying participating publishers.

In an online FAQ detailing the structure of the new Facebook News, the company outlines its editorial strategy, including which publishers it decides to promote and what metrics it uses to pick one story from one outlet over another. To do so, the company is employing a human team and vetting sources through a new effort called the News Page Index. “The team is transparent about the following guidelines and will make curatorial choices independently, not at the direction of Facebook, publishers or advertisers,” the FAQ explains. “They will apply the same guidelines and criteria to our coverage about Facebook as we would to any other company or industry.”

Facebook says to qualify as one of its partnered publishers, those publishers need to have a big enough audience and also pass the company’s integrity standards, although the FAQ does not make clear where the line between objectionable and passable content is. Facebook does say it will rely on its existing third-party fact-checkers, the same ones who now help it check COVID-19 content and other sensitive subject areas, and the same moderation tools it uses to monitor clickbait, sensationalist content, and copyright-infringing material.

Facebook’s ad business and its algorithmic News Feed have both contributed to financial struggles in the traditional journalism industry, the slow death of local news, and the overall news literacy of Americans and citizens of other countries around the world who have increasingly turned to unregulated and poorly moderated social networks for information.

Source- The Verge