Facebook is altering your feed again. This time adding in more Local news stories. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the change is because Facebook users wanted to see more local content in their feeds. This is just the latest in a series of changes to the feed.
Prior changes included focusing more on posts from family and friends instead of posts from brands and significantly changing the news feed algorithm to focus more personal user interactions. According to recode, there should be one more change on the horizon that focuses on informative content.
Why focus on local news?
In Zuckerberg's earlier Facebook post on the 19th, he stated that one of his goals for the new year was to make sure news on Facebook was trustworthy, local and informative. Since the news algorithm was already adjusted to focus on trustworthiness, it was time to adjust it for content that had a more local focus.
As theorized by TechCrunch, the emphasis on local content could be an attempt by Facebook to shift away from focusing on national news outlets that may be regarded as being politicized. Zuckerberg also stated in a Facebook post, that Local News is more relevant to users and helps them to understand the issues that matter the most. He also hopes that it will make the time spent on Facebook more valuable as local news can lead to greater community involvement.
Local news also makes it easier to recognize fake news. Fake news is more easily believed if it takes place far away from you as it is harder for you to verify its accuracy. The fake local news is much easier to verify as you can most likely discuss it with your neighbors or visually confirm its accuracy.
What determines local news?
So how does Facebook know what news is local and what isn't? The answer is another algorithm that identifies readers who click on links in a "tight geographical area" according to a statement by Facebook. Facebook then matches that information with your geographical location and if it matches up, the publication is considered a local news publisher and its news appears in your feed.
The idea is that both large local publishers and smaller ones that focus on a niche topic such as the local arts scene will benefit. Though, in theory, this could mean that national publications such as The Washington Post and The New York Times could be considered local news publications having a large concentration of readers in the Washington DC area and New York City respectively.
Facebook's recent algorithm changes mean that while you'll see less news on your feed, it should be more relevant to you. The change takes effect this week and Facebook plans to expand the effort to other countries this year.
