Meta plans to remove the news feature from Facebook in the U.S.and Australia, focusing less on news and politics.

Meta is planning to remove the Facebook News feature for users in the U.S. and Australia soon. This decision follows the feature's earlier discontinuation in the U.K., France, and Germany. The News tab was introduced in 2019 to showcase headlines from various news sources.

Despite this change, users can still find news articles on Facebook, and news outlets can share their stories just like anyone else. Meta is making this move to reduce news and politics on its platforms due to past criticisms about misinformation and political division. Dani Lever from Meta explained that the change affects what the platform suggests to users, but doesn't alter what users choose to follow themselves.

Meta clarifies that its efforts to combat misinformation through fact-checking will continue unaffected by the News tab closure. Yet, the challenge of misinformation persists, especially with the upcoming U.S. presidential election stirring concerns. Experts observe that Facebook's shift away from political content is a strategic move to avoid becoming embroiled in political controversies.

News organizations have been experiencing less traffic from Facebook for a while, leading them to explore other ways to engage audiences, such as search engines and newsletters. Rick Edmonds from Poynter noted that the end of the News tab was expected but still poses a problem for the news industry. Facebook's contribution to news consumption is significant, with a 2023 study showing that half of U.S. adults sometimes get news from social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram.

Recent changes have also affected Instagram, where Meta decided to stop suggesting political content from accounts users don't follow. This left some users unhappy, not realizing they could disable the filter in settings. In both cases, Meta's adjustments reflect its ongoing struggle to balance content recommendations with user expectations and societal impacts.