The WeChat model: How Facebook’s Australian ban could change the business of news
If the current situation continues, it may leave Facebook operating much more like the Chinese platform WeChat, where news is ruled by platform-specific content houses cranking out huge volumes of low-quality articles.
Feb. 22, 2021, 9:21 a.m.
Last week, in response to Australia’s proposed media bargaining code, Facebook effectively halted all posting of links from Australian news pages and stopped people in Australia from posting or viewing international news as well.
The change, which has sent publishers’ traffic tumbling, happened overnight, and may be undone if either Australia or Facebook backs down. But if the current situation continues, it may leave Facebook operating much more like the Chinese platform WeChat, where news is ruled by platform-specific content houses cranking out huge volumes of low-quality articles. And that might suit Facebook quite well — if not the public.