Meta is reportedly reducing news content on its apps, particularly Facebook, as more U.S. readers turn to online forums for local news. A study by Chartbeat and Similarweb reveals a 50% decline in referral traffic from Facebook to publisher websites over the past year.
Since 2018, Chartbeat has tracked Facebook traffic to 792 news and media sites, showing a 58% drop in referrals, from 1.3 billion in March 2018 to 561 million last month. Facebook’s total referrals have fallen to just 7% of their 2018 level, significantly impacting small publishers.
Small publishers, with under 10,000 average daily page views, have seen their traffic from Facebook drop to 2% of what it was six years ago. Large and medium-sized outlets are experiencing about half of their March 2018 levels.
Meta has been limiting its news output for years. This year, it announced the deprecation of its Facebook News tab in the U.S. and Australia, after earlier discontinuations in the U.K., France, and Germany. The company stated that the number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. has dropped over 80% last year.
Meta also banned news on Facebook in Canada and stopped recommending political content on Instagram and Threads. Following the Capitol riots on January 6, the company has been working to reduce the spread of hate and debate on its apps, often rooted in political content.
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