DW: Why journalism should be disconnected from Facebook

Deleting your Facebook account is a good idea for many reasons. There has been a lot of talk in recent days about press freedom, because billionaire Elon Musk will buy Twitter. But for the full connection of journalism with facebook there are years that there is no great indignation. Why?

The social network Facebook has long become an integral part of our daily lives. I regularly receive emails from editorial executives with figures showing Facebook clicks of the most successful articles. This is a way to motivate journalists. Motivation for what? When exactly did clicks on this social platform become one of the most important indicators for journalism? So important that I’m not sure if I can afford to delete my Facebook account. What would happen to the networks set up over the years, to the countless groups where important, endless topics pass? And what would come next? What is the alternative to sharing content that I think has social significance and I want to share, as I have learned to do for years on Facebook? If I no longer have access to this platform, is it possible that I continue to exist?

Deleting the account seems at first very annoying. It would be much easier if you believe and convince, that FB is for journalists only a means of distributing journalistic products.

Storytelling for algorithms?

And since we journalists found comfortable shelter on facebook, Concern Meta has tried to take it a step further. In the Meta Journalism project we learn “to tell stories that matter”. Now we need to learn to tell stories, like algorithms so that the ads that are attached fit well with the Content, the content, that comes from the newsrooms.

An alternative way would be, of course, for Meta to finally stop presenting the same, or better to say below as professional journalistic content, as well as hate speech, fake-news and emotional expressions of thought. But this is not even up for discussion.

Instead of doing this Facebook prefers to continue with the acquisitions: in 2019 for local journalism in the world was given a grant of 300 million dollars. The money was given for news programs, partnerships and content. For the Facebook Concern, this money is pocket money, but for the constantly poorly funded journalism and for the talented young people, who have to learn from the beginning to do storytelling according to the platform lines and not according to the journalistic way of working, they money is a lot.

Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. But I think, at the same moment that this is happening we are saying goodbye to our journalistic integrity.

Fake News and misinformation

That’s why we need to break away from Facebook. Even if at first it causes pain. We need to break free from the image we have in our heads, from the beginning of our romance, when we celebrated social media as the democratization of information and being infected we were willing to ignore the dangers.

Finally during the attack on the Capitol in Washington in early 2021, it must have become clear to all of us that social media must take responsibility. The spread of Fake News and misinformation, which can spread unhindered, was more important than the turmoil caused to millions of people, turmoil that escalated into violence.

Gilda-Nancy Horvath: Lives even without Facebook

The concern could control the distribution of propaganda, only that it would cost much more money. Meta is not obliged to do this, because Meta is a concern and works according to the principles of asylum economy. Benefit comes first. But what is the reason for us journalists to continue to contribute to the dominance of information from this concern? When is the right time for the newsrooms of this world to preserve their independence and put an end to this?

The good news is, though: Independence is an illusion. We waver in believing that Facebook today will guarantee us a good reach. But in the meantime we know very well that this is not true. Because in the meantime the algorithm takes care that we never achieve the desired or dreamed extent, because we do not play by the Storytelling rules of the platform or simply because, we do not pay for the extent of our content.

“Safe Spaces”

The time has come for journalism to go its own way and take over developments in the dissemination of digital information. Freelance journalism also means that at least we try to create our platforms, create sites that meet the requirements and introduce “Safe Spaces” for those who seek reliable and secure information. And another idea here: Journalists need to do journalism while working. Marketing is another thing.

My Facebook account has been deactivated in the meantime. To read and follow my colleagues’s articles, I have downloaded the Deutsche Welles app. It’s very enjoyable to read articles without being interrupted by shocking videos and hate speech.

Therefore my favorite trend and Hashtag for 2022 is #leavefacebook. And if this thing is not back in trend yet, it should be back right away. Because in all preferences to discuss business models in the media sector, we need to get back to our values: Valuable information is human right. The power over information, the design of information, the places where information is to be prepared and disseminated, all of these currently have the same value as the power to interpret reality.

We either leave Facebook or leave it to Meta to make decisions and interpret what people should think is true. This is the price that journalism pays for its greater reach to the truth.

Gilda-Nancy Horvath is a journalist and activist on the Roma issue. She established in 2017 the platformRA Medium Romblog with information on Roma and Sinti./DW

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