Complete Story
05/24/2017
Facebook is testing products to connect its users to local news
As part of its ongoing push to build relationships with local publishers, Facebook is testing products that can help people better connect with local news.
Those tests, part of the Facebook Journalism Project, have just begun, but they're all aimed at helping people discover and engage with news outlets in their communities, a Facebook spokesperson told Poynter.
The tests are on three products: One points users in community-linked Facebook groups to additional local news. Another, launching Tuesday, offers users who make their cities of residence public a badge identifying them as a local when they comment on a local publisher's stories. A third helps people find local groups.
Poynter spoke with a Facebook spokesperson via email about the new products.
What kinds of things are you looking for from those tests, specifically?
Ultimately, we're running tests to help people better discover local news and meaningfully engage with their community. We're looking to establish baseline metrics for the availability and discoverability of news and identify the levers that move users to consume, share, comment and form community around local news.
