Tech

Facebook confirms news tab will launch this fall

Key Points
  • Facebook on Thursday confirmed that it is working on a news tab feature to deliver topical stories to users that will launch this fall.
  • Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had mentioned news tab as an idea in a video he posted to the social network in April. 
  • The company is reportedly in discussions to pay news outlets as much as $3 million annually to license stories. 
Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg leaves after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on May 10, 2019.
Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Facebook on Thursday confirmed it is working on a news tab to deliver "trustworthy news" to the social network's users that will launch this fall. The tab would give news high prominence on Facebook, alongside core features like the News Feed (which includes updates from friends), Messenger and Watch (for videos).

The company confirmed the feature is in the works after the Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that Facebook had approached numerous news outlets like The Washington Post and Bloomberg about paying them as much as $3 million annually to license their news articles.

"No details to share on the WSJ report, but I can confirm we're working on a news tab to launch this fall," a Facebook spokeswoman told CNBC.

The idea of a news tab was first floated by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in April in a video he posted on his Facebook profile in which he discusses the topic of journalism with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. 

"It's important to me that we help people get trustworthy news and find solutions that help journalists around the world do their important work," Zuckerberg wrote alongside the video.

Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal.

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