'Fewer people' are using Facebook for news

Fewer people are using Facebook to discover and discuss news, as messaging apps such as WhatsApp gain in popularity, a study has suggested. The seventh annual Digital News Report said the fall in users accessing news on Facebook reflected concerns about privacy and the toxic nature of debate. "I've actually pulled back from using Facebook a lot since the whole political landscape changed over the last few years because I just find everyone's got an opinion," said one person, based in the UK. Facebook's decision to change its algorithms to favour posts of friends rather than external news also played a part in the decline of news on its platform, the report said, although much of the polling for the survey had been completed before the changes had taken effect. Trust in news overall stood at 44% - but only 34% of those surveyed said they trusted news they found via search, and fewer than a quarter trusted news on social networks. Consumers remained reluctant to watch news videos on publishers' websites, with Americans and Europeans wanting to see fewer online news videos.

Read the full story

 Related companies

Make a complaint about Facebook by viewing their customer service contacts.

•