Facebook donates £4.5m to fund local journalists in the UK in fight against fake news
Facebook will donate £4.5m to support roughly 80 trainee journalists in newsrooms across the UK in a bid to plug the gap caused by the decline of local media.
The social media firm said it has partnered with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and a range of British publishers to help fund the training of journalists in towns that have lost their local newspapers.
The NCTJ will oversee the recruitment of roughly 80 so-called community journalists who will have access to a training programme while working on the two-year scheme, the company said.
Facebook said the NCTJ and publishers will aim to employ trainees from a variety of backgrounds, ensuring the reporters reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “The NCTJ cares deeply about the number, quality and diversity of journalists working in our local communities.
“We are very proud to support the sustainability of quality local journalism by overseeing the recruitment of additional local news journalists from diverse and inclusive backgrounds and by ensuring they are properly trained and qualified.”
The plan comes as Facebook faces increasing pressure to address its impact on the news industry.
The technology giant has faced criticism for diverting advertising revenue away from traditional news publishers and has been forced to take action to clamp down on inaccurate information distributed across its site.
Facebook said it would prioritise content from “trusted sources” on its platform back in January. But the new fund is the first time the social media giant has directly funded journalists.
The social network said the project will be a collaboration with Newsquest, Reach, Archant, the Midland News Association and JPI Media, which was formed this weekend following the collapse of Johnston Press.
Karyn Fleeting, head of audience at Reach, said: "As publishers, we already work closely with Facebook, so this collaboration is a logical next step.
"Community news is shared widely on Facebook, on pages and in community groups, and this collaboration will help us reach communities which don't currently benefit from in-depth community news.”
Facebook said applications for the programme will open next year, but the NCTJ will soon begin a recruitment drive across the country.
The scheme bears a resemblance to the BBC’s local democracy reporter scheme, which funds local journalists across England, Scotland and Wales.
There are currently 144 local democracy reporters in 59 different news organisations.