Facebook will be introducing a new news section in its video streaming platform Facebook Watch.
This new news section will be featuring breaking news stories.
According to the company’s Head of News Partnerships Campbell Brown, the initiative is part of Facebook’s strategy to promote local news.
He mentioned that with Watch, Facebook is trying to own and control original content that it distributes itself exclusively on its own channel.
Although competitors like YouTube and Snap also have their own original content, the Watch according to Facebook is taking a big step forward.
“People don’t come to Facebook for news, they come to Facebook for friends and family,” he said.
But according to him, while that may be true, much of what friends and family are sharing especially in the news cycle is news.
He disclosed that, Facebook is focusing on local news publishers rather than big national outlets to change the conversation and focus on utility of the platform.
Adam Mosseri, VP of news feed said, he doesn’t think their focus on false news and integrity morphed into time well spent.
He added that things that violates community standards, needs to be confronted head on.
“You have to assume that you’re dealing with an adversary who’s sophisticated and their strategy will change over time, so the work never ends,” he said.
Facebook launched the Watch platform in August as a way to compete more directly with other video distribution platforms online.
