Meta Blocks News Link Sharing In Canada, Triggers Soaring Opinion And Meme Content

Illustration of the Facebook page fan Canada Proud which received a surge in followers. (photo: Facebook @canada proud)

JAKARTA - Meta, the company behind the social media platform Facebook, has decided to block sharing news links in Canada since August last year. This decision has had a significant impact on user interaction patterns with political information on the platform.

Jeff Ballingall, a far-right meme manufacturer that manages the Canada Proud Facebook page, reports a significant increase in the number of clicks and followers. By publishing up to 10 posts per day, the page now reaches about 540,000 followers.

Separate studies conducted by NewsGuard found that the number of likes, comments, and sharing of what is categorized as a "untrustworthy" source rose to 6.9% in Canada within 90 days of blocking, compared to 2.2% in the previous 90 days.

"This growth is very worrying," said Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard's co-chief executive, a fact-checking firm that assesses websites for accuracy.

The reason Meta's move to block the news link was to avoid payment to media companies. They also claim that news does not provide significant economic value to Meta's business. However, this decision has led to a shift in the way social media users in Canada interact with political information.

Unpublished studies show that the use of news in political groups has been replaced by opinion and meme content. Taylor Owen, co-founder director of the Center for Media, Technology and Democracy atvertificate University, said credible news and information in news feeds had declined, leaving users with underverified content.

This news shortage has the potential to undermine political discussions, especially in election years as it will in Canada and Australia by 2025. In addition, increased engagement with unverified content has also increased the risk of disinformation spreading.

Governments of Canada and Australia, along with other jurisdictions such as California and the United Kingdom, are considering legislative measures to force internet giants to pay media companies for their news content.

Sementara itu, Google telah mencapai kesepakatan dengan pemerintah Kanada untuk membayar dana yang akan mendukung media, tetapi belum menunjukkan perubahan dalam kesepakatan dengan pengember berita di Australia.

Amid these debates, Facebook remains the most popular social media platform for content today, despite a decline as a news source over the years. In a Canadian context, where four-by-five populations used Facebook, 51% got news from the platform in 2023, according to the Media Ecosystem Observatory.

Meta's decision to block news sharing in Canada has changed the landscape of political information on the platform, increased engagement with opinion and meme content and left concerns about the spread of disinformation in the future.