Thread - (short). Nobody would like to see technology companies reform to help revitalize local journalism more than me (seriously). However the direct ungoverned relationship of a platform like Facebook (or Google) to news organizations is troubling on a number of levels 1/
Conflict of interest being the most obvious. Today as Zuckerberg answered @AOC asking what she would or would not be allowed to advertise on Facebook we saw repeated mentions of @factchecknet set up as the ‘arbiter of truth’ (which it can never be, it is a service provider) 2/
It is v hard for organisations that take money from platforms to directly challenge them when subtle shifts in narrative like this take place. The use of the @factchecknet process as a fig leaf for Facebook’s own political advertising policies was a case of influence at work 3/
For relatively little money FB can employ a rhetorical trick to shift focus or responsibility to a powerless and financially weaker ‘partner’ (not really a partner on those terms). There will be more congressional hearings no doubt on the power /influence of platforms 4
And it is not to hard to anticipate these platforms citing their work in supporting journalism as a foil to charges that they have undermined the business models of the press. 5
At a crucial time for hashing out issues of media governance and monopoly regulation , there are a growing number of journalists, academics, and even funders who are no longer able to offer an independent assessment of the situation. Soon, I think we will come to regret this 6
