Facebook unveils 'Journalism project' to strengthen media ties

Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform in Uganda and elsewhere, used by many to break the news as it happens. 

It has been labelled a media company in the past, something it strongly resisted. However, for the last one year, the social network was put under a lot of pressure for not doing enough to curb fake news.

Now it wants users to know that it thinks news and journalism are important by bridging with the news industry and promoting higher quality journalism.

Facebook on January 18, unveiled a new program called the "Facebook Journalism Project" with three main objectives:

Work with journalists to build storytelling tools and monetization options

 Train journalists to help them make the best use of Facebook as a tool

And partner with third parties to promote news literacy on and off the social network.

In a blog post, Facebook product director Fidji Simo said these efforts will build on recent steps Facebook has taken to minimize fake news stories, such as partnering with third-part fact checkers to identify fake news.

"We know that our community values sharing and discussing ideas and news, and as a part of our service, we care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive," Simo said.

 "That's why today we're announcing a new program to establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry. We will be collaborating with news organizations to develop products, learning from journalists about ways we can be a better partner and working with publishers and educators on how we can equip people with the knowledge they need to be informed readers in the digital age."

Facebook's collaboration with reporters on news products could lead to entirely new story telling formats and more support for local news content. 

The company also said it plans to complete a global "listening tour" to promote regular communication between Facebook and the publishing industry.