Folha began publishing its content on Facebook again this Tuesday (6). The newspaper's page has 5.5 million followers, and has not been updated since February 8, 2018. With the reactivation, readers have a new way to receive the publication's content.
At the time of its departure, Folha announced that it would no longer post on the social network. It thought the platform was acting to reduce the visibility of professional journalism, allowing posts with false news to proliferate and mix with serious information. Since then, Facebook has taken a series of steps in the opposite direction.
The company has restricted the circulation of fake news and hate speech, taking down pages and providing warnings and additional information in posts that contain factual issues.
There have also been changes regarding the journalism business model.
The company now allows the adoption of the so-called paywall (billing for digital content) in content published within Instant Articles, a tool designed for fast loading of text from news sites.
Finally, the latest announcement refers to more control over the spread of misinformation.
In the coming months, users will be informed through new formats when a profile or page is repeatedly sharing false news. Repeated infringement will lead to more severe punishments for profiles, with reduced reach and warnings to new followers that the profile has already propagated false content.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon