Facebook has started its foray into the news business by teaming up with mainstream media to feature in its own shows. The platform forged partnerships with TV outfits CNN, ABS and Fox to produce exclusive programs, according to a report by CNBC.
The company said that the exclusive shows created will appear on its "Watch Section," dedicated to original content. The Facebook-sponsored shows under ABC, Fox News and CNN are set to debut later this summer.
This effort to produce original shows followed after the company drew flak for the proliferation of fake news on its platform MSNBC reported.
Regulators from different regions have asked Facebook to upscale its algorithm that detects fake from credible sources.
Mark Zuckerberg has also earlier announced that it will hire more people to moderate the contents posted on its platform. Facebook will start to produce its own news content in a bid to become a video-based information source, CNBC said.
"Earlier this year we made a commitment to show news that is trustworthy, informative, and local on Facebook," said Campbell Brown, head of global news partnerships. The group has also announced that it was shutting down its "Trending Topic" section.
Information-based programs
ABC will debut "On Location," a daily news program recapping the headlines of the day.
Anderson Cooper will take charge of the global topics with "Anderson Cooper Full Circle" slated to air every day.
Meanwhile, "Fox News Update," in partnership with Fox News, will be hosted by veterans Carley Shimkus, Abby Huntsman and Shepard Smith. Brown said the news content will be hosted by "award-winning" journalists and new talent.
Facebook funded
These programs, although produced outside the media outfits, will be funded by the social media giant. These programs will put premium into meaningful social interactions over publisher content, according to a report by tech Crunch, citing Brown's blog post.
Other publishers on Facebook will take a hit with what Zuckerberg phrased as less news in users' feed but more trustworthy and informative content.
Officials of the platform said the company will announce more shows in the coming weeks in a bid to support its pivot to digital content creation and its fight against fake news.
Before venturing into video-based news contents, Facebook acquired photo-sharing company Instagram. Since then, it has upgraded the services by injecting Snapchat-like videos stories, live streaming and stories leveraging on the power of videos to lure users to use to platform.
