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Facebook's experiment with breaking news services, like the "Trending Topics" had raised controversy in reactions to the removal of human moderators, leaving it solely to AI algorithm, which opened door for misinformation and fake news campaigns.

Now, the social media giant is making another bet with local news, as it launches Today In, a feature that breaks local news and information to users based on their geographic location.

It offers a dedicated section which curates and aggregates relevant stories for local sources in a concise form in the News Feed, allowing users to catch up with the news, events, and discussions happening in the community.

While the company’s interest in promoting local news, was as a result of users consistency in demanding to see more local happenings on Facebook, which will help it understand the issues that matter in communities and how they affect users lives.

Albeit, the great bane remains the concerns about misinformation, privacy, and the meddling of government-backed agencies with “fake news” campaigns.

Facebook has also launched its first international test in Australia, with more testing in communities located in places that have low supply of local news and information, by supplementing with relevant content from surrounding areas.

The local news service has been in testing since last January in some U.S. cities, and is now rolling out to more than 400 cities in the United States.

Facebook's local news service, Today In rolling out to over 400 U.S. cities



Facebook's experiment with breaking news services, like the "Trending Topics" had raised controversy in reactions to the removal of human moderators, leaving it solely to AI algorithm, which opened door for misinformation and fake news campaigns.

Now, the social media giant is making another bet with local news, as it launches Today In, a feature that breaks local news and information to users based on their geographic location.

It offers a dedicated section which curates and aggregates relevant stories for local sources in a concise form in the News Feed, allowing users to catch up with the news, events, and discussions happening in the community.

While the company’s interest in promoting local news, was as a result of users consistency in demanding to see more local happenings on Facebook, which will help it understand the issues that matter in communities and how they affect users lives.

Albeit, the great bane remains the concerns about misinformation, privacy, and the meddling of government-backed agencies with “fake news” campaigns.

Facebook has also launched its first international test in Australia, with more testing in communities located in places that have low supply of local news and information, by supplementing with relevant content from surrounding areas.

The local news service has been in testing since last January in some U.S. cities, and is now rolling out to more than 400 cities in the United States.
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