Facebook News could launch in India in the next few months

After launching the service in US as a pilot program, Facebook now plans on expanding Facebook news to more countries starting with India, B...

After launching the service in US as a pilot program, Facebook now plans on expanding Facebook news to more countries starting with India, Brazil, France, Germany and UK in the coming months. The social media giant said it would pay publishers to “ensure their content is available in the new product”.

Facebook said it looked at the progress made by the product in the US, and planned to expand the service to more users in the next 6 to 12 months. Facebook assured that they would be paying publishers in each country it launches the service. Facebook currently pays more than 200 US media outlets for content including original reporting from thousands of local news organisations. Facebook said it plans to turn Facebook news a “valuable asset” in the long term by remaining committed to the partnerships it has developed with publishers.

With over 2.7 billion active users, Facebook commands perhaps the largest reach for any social network, and has increasingly come under the radar of authorities and regulators for spreading misinformation and fake news among readers, as well as for stifling competition. Following such criticism, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had promised to ensure Facebook offers trustworthy information from high-quality news outlets. Facebook News seems to be culmination of that promise.

How does Facebook News work?

For the end users, Facebook News shows up as a dedicated tab in the Facebook app. Here, users have control to hide articles, publishers and sections they’re not interested in, and discover new topics and stories based on the news they read, share and follow. Facebook News also presents the top headlines and stories of the day along with personalised content to the user. Currently, Facebook has over 200 news outlets in the US, including a lot of local news organisations which enable local news delivered to the concerned users living nearby.

After launch, Facebook news can be accessed by selecting the News section from the menu, or by searching Facebook News in the Search Bar in the Facebook app. The service is only available on Android and iOS devices in the US presently. There’s no word on a web version for it though.

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