In late January, Facebook announced a change to the news feed that would prioritize local news stories. At the time, the change was only set for the U.S., but Facebook has now confirmed that the feature is now making its way to Canada as well.
Starting today, Canadians will see more news on Facebook from local sources that cover their current city, as well as other cities that may be relevant to them.
The update also intends to help local publishers who cover multiple, nearby cities reach a wider audience in those cities. Facebook says it will consider a publisher to be local to multiple cities “if the people in those cities are more likely than the people outside of those cities to read articles from the publisher’s domain.”
Facebook says the goal behind the change is to positively influence people by letting users see more content they care about. “Local news helps us understand the issues that matter in our communities and affect our lives,” company CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a January 29th Facebook post.
“Research suggests that reading local news is directly correlated with civic engagement. People who know what’s happening around them are more likely to get involved and help make a difference.”
