Facebook Faces Criticism of Ad Policy From Global Publishers

Facebook is facing more blowback for its decision to categorize the promotion of news articles as political content, with global publishers now urging Mark Zuckerberg to change its policy, according to Bloomberg.

Seven trade groups representing media publishers and broadcast organizations in more than 120 countries including the New York Times, BBC.com and 21st Century Fox, sent a letter to Zuckerberg. They’re criticizing the social media giant’s decision to place ads publishers buy to boost exposure to their political articles in a public database alongside the ad information of political candidates.

“We see your policy as another step toward furthering a false and dangerous narrative that blurs the lines between real reporting from the professional media and propaganda,“ the letter said. “Marketing our products, or subscriptions to our products, is not separate from our journalism or from press freedom.“

Under the new rules, any ads promoting political content, even news articles on politics and elections, will be placed in an archive that includes the identities of who’s paying for the ads and the demographics of who’s seen the ads for up to seven years. The archive began in the U.S., but Facebook has said it plans to expand the approach globally.

“Facebook must recognize the value of journalism created by independent news media companies and respect the critical role journalism plays in supporting societies across the world,“ World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers president Michael Golden said in a statement.

Facebook first alerted publishers to the new rules last month following months of criticism over Russian operatives’ use of the site to influence the 2016 presidential election. Within hours of report on the initiative and the criticism from news organizations, Facebook said it would work with publishers to come up with a policy that distinguishes journalism from political advocacy.