What influence does news and media have on Facebook? According to the Reuters agency, it is low, very low, at least in Canada. Meta has been blocking media content on its platforms since early August. This comes in response to a law passed in June requiring digital giants to enter into agreements with local media over remuneration for content broadcast on their platforms.

However, according to Reuters, this removal of news content was unsuccessful No impact on Facebook audience in Canada. The agency used figures from two companies specializing in monitoring online viewership data and came to the same conclusion: since August 1, the day the media content was removed, average viewership has neither decreased nor gone up. The same observation with the average time Canadian internet users spend on Facebook.

Numbers that seem to prove Facebook right: In the showdown with the Canadian authorities, the social network claimed that the law was unfavorable to them because Information made up less than 3% of content in Facebook news feedsand that, on the contrary, it was the media that benefited from the use of Facebook and Instagram to increase their audience.

A 74% decrease in traffic compared to 2020

For years, Meta has modified its algorithms to lower the weight of media content in the newsfeed, favoring content from Facebook friends, but also from entertainment sites or groups. According to Reuters figures, traffic to Facebook’s media sites was down 35% year-on-year in July…and 74% compared to 2020.

However, according to his own figures for the United States, there are still such 13 of the 20 most viewed websites via links clicked on Facebook that are media.

In Canada, Meta’s media ban caused controversy as it came at a time when major fires were ravaging the country. Several representatives of communities or institutions involved in the rescue complained that this made it difficult to disseminate information about the evacuations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself criticized Meta, saying: “They would rather leave people at risk than do their fair share in supporting democracy and local journalism.”