As Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, shifts its focus away from news content, media outlets are grappling with significant losses in both visitor traffic and revenue. Despite boasting a colossal user base exceeding three billion, Meta’s social media apps contributed only 33% to the overall social media traffic by page views for major news sites in December. This marks a considerable decline from the 50% share reported in the same month the previous year, according to insights from Chartbeat, a traffic analytics firm analyzing 1,930 media sites.
The reduction in news-related traffic can be attributed to Meta’s strategic decision to pivot away from news, a move influenced by a series of controversies and political scrutiny. The company has faced challenges, including allegations of being a breeding ground for election-related misinformation and political bias. Additionally, Meta has been confronted with lawsuits regarding its failure to adequately protect young users on Facebook and Instagram.
In December, Facebook’s share of external traffic referral volume from social media platforms and search engines plummeted to a mere 6%, down significantly from 14% in 2018. This underscores the diminishing role Meta’s platforms play in directing traffic to news sites. Media outlets, including the political news nonprofit Mother Jones, have experienced drastic declines, with Mother Jones reportedly seeing a staggering 99% reduction in traffic from Facebook compared to its peak several years ago.
Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones, commented on Meta’s apparent shift, stating, “At this point, it seems pretty clear from the comments that executives at Facebook and Meta made that they have just decided that news is more trouble than it’s worth and that they will show people a fairly minimal amount of it.”
A spokesperson from Meta countered these observations, attributing the changes to shifts in user behavior. The spokesperson noted, “We know that people don’t come to Facebook for news and political content — they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions, and interests.”
The impact of Meta’s news retreat extends beyond the digital realm, with Canadian lawmakers passing a pay mandate leading Meta to block users in Canada from accessing news content on Facebook and Instagram. This move resulted in major declines in traffic and revenue for Canadian outlets.
As Meta continues to reshape its approach to news content, media outlets are left to navigate the evolving landscape, emphasizing the broader challenges associated with the tech giant’s evolving role in the dissemination of news.
