Google, Facebook pledged millions for local news. Was it enough?

In the US alone, digital and print ad revenue for newspapers fell to $14.3 billion in 2018 from $49.4 billion in 2005. (File/AFP).
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Updated 10 June 2021
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Google, Facebook pledged millions for local news. Was it enough?

  • Google and Facebook pledged $600 million to support news outlets globally.
  • Analysts indicate that this sum does not begin to compensate for the tens of billions of dollars publishers lost as tech companies dominated the market.

Facing regulatory and political pressure, Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google in recent years committed a combined $600 million to support news outlets globally — many of them local or regional enterprises foundering in a digital age.

Thousands of media outlets received financial and other support for everything from fact checking and reporting to training, according to the tech giants’ announcements. Some publishers express gratitude for contributions they say are essential as advertising revenue has plunged.

But several media analysts and news business executives told Reuters that the funding — set to last three years — does not nearly compensate for the tens of billions of dollars publishers lost as the tech companies gobbled up the digital advertising market. Google and Facebook accounted for 54 percent of US digital advertising revenue in 2020, according to eMarketer, a market research company.

Some critics dismissed the projects, including contributions of $300 million from each company, as a way to blunt complaints from publishers and generate good PR. Both tech companies face battles over compensation for news content worldwide, as well as antitrust lawsuits from regulators and publishers.

This “occasional benevolence” is “a drop in the bucket,” said Maribel Perez Wadsworth, publisher of Gannett’s USA Today and president of USA Today Network, which participates in a fact-checking program sponsored by Facebook. “News publishers are not looking for charity. We’re simply requesting a fair shot and a level playing field.”

Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, said the money is vital to newsrooms in the short-term. “But they’re not given at a level which really has a lasting effect on the field, and it isn’t really changing anything.”

The tech giants told Reuters that they are genuinely committed to helping local and regional outlets, and both will continue to offer support after the $600 million initiatives expire in coming months.

The goal of the Facebook Journalism Project, as it is known, is to help publishers “effectively transition to and prosper in today’s digital world where they have to find a very specific audience in order to be successful,” said Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook.

READ THE LATEST ARAB NEWS RESEARCH & STUDIES UNIT REPORT “FUTURE OF MEDIA: MYTH OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.”

Google is “oriented around making sure that there’s a healthy and vibrant ecosystem of quality journalism,” said Ben Monnie, the company’s director of global partnerships.

Reuters participates in initiatives funded by both Google and Facebook. Under the Facebook Journalism Project, for instance, Reuters received funding to develop a digital media training course for journalists. Neither Facebook nor Reuters would disclose the amount of money allocated.

Both Facebook and Google have made contributions to the news industry apart from the $600 million. For instance, the companies dedicated $1 billion each last year in grants and deals to pay a range of media worldwide for content. As part of that commitment, Google pays publishers such as Reuters to create and curate content for its News Showcase — snippets for its News and Discover apps.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which is largely funded by the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, announced in 2020 that it received about $19 million in grants from Google and $4 million from Facebook.

Both Facebook and Google say publishers benefit just from using their platforms, which deliver traffic that helps drive advertising revenue and subscriptions.

“We are a free service that is available to anyone to post content,” Brown said. Publishers’ participation “suggests they are getting value from the platform without us making these additional investments.”

WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

Facebook, a social media goliath, and Google, by far the world’s most popular search engine, generated $607 billion in advertising revenue during the last three years, according to company filings. The companies are among the biggest corporate funders of the global news industry.

The two platforms have released limited information so far about how the $600 million in grants and services has been spent, often offering broad descriptions or examples without financial details.

Google has publicly identified buckets of spending worth about $198 million — including $81 million aimed at “elevating quality journalism” such as training on how to use Google products in reporting. The company, which said it expects to spend the full $300 million by year’s end, lists over 6,250 “news partners” in the project, ranging from the Associated Press and BuzzFeed News to the Cook Islands News in the South Pacific.

Facebook has said that its $300 million has been fully spent, more than half of it in support of local news. The company’s public announcements account for $80.3 million, a quarter of which went to a program that helps local newsrooms attract more digital subscribers. A company spokesperson, Adam Isserlis, said the project also includes proprietary deals with publishers, the details of which are confidential.

Several news executives said they are prodding the tech giants to pay more for content and to further prioritize original reporting. Facebook and Google say they have already changed their algorithms to do just that.

Meanwhile, some publishers see a lifeline. An executive at the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, said a Google-funded training “lab” helped the paper determine the volume and price of digital subscribers that would cover expenses.

At Cityside, a nonprofit in Oakland, California, co-founder Lance Knobel said he used $1.56 million from Google to help launch and support an online local news website, Oaklandside.

“I honestly think their big interest is that they want a healthy news environment,” he said.

FRIEND AND FOE

Other publishers are dissatisfied or ambivalent, viewing the tech goliaths as both friend and foe.

The companies have a huge impact on outlets’ advertising revenues because their algorithms determine whether an article shows up prominently in a Google search or on Facebook’s news feed.

Google runs one of the largest online advertising exchanges for digital ads that are bought and sold automatically via software programs. Since Google competes as both the biggest buyer and seller on that exchange, it can steer business to itself, some publishers and other critics have alleged.

In the United States alone, digital and print ad revenue for newspapers fell to $14.3 billion in 2018 from $49.4 billion in 2005.

On June 7, under a settlement with France’s antitrust watchdog, Google agreed to share more data with ad buyers broadly — therefore reducing some of its competitive advantage over publishers.

Google and Facebook face other legal challenges. The Nation, a progressive US news website, and West Virginia-based newspaper company HD Media are among publishers to file antitrust lawsuits against one or both tech giants in recent months. US authorities have filed antitrust suits against both as well, and some states have accused Google of unlawfully dominating the process of placing ads online.

In responses to some of the suits, the companies dismissed claims that their business practices hurt publishers. Google said people use the company because they choose to, not because they’re forced to.

Frank Blethen sees things differently.

The Seattle Times publisher said his paper has participated in programs backed by Google and Facebook. But “if they hadn’t monopolized advertising and gamed search the way they have, newspapers would still be making money,” he said.


Israeli army admits to Gaza strike

Updated 06 June 2025
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Israeli army admits to Gaza strike

  • Admission comes following investigation by BBC Verify

DUBAI: The Israeli military has admitted to the BBC that it conducted a strike on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, which reportedly killed at least one Palestinian and injured 30 others.

The attack took place on Sunday, soon after an incident near a new aid distribution center in Rafah.

BBC’s fact-checking unit, Verify, was analyzing footage of the Rafah incident when it identified a separate strike in nearby Khan Younis.

Initially thought to be linked to the Rafah incident, BBC Verify geolocated the footage to Khan Younis, 4.5 km from the aid distribution site.

The Khan Younis blast had not been announced by the IDF, which regularly publishes operational updates online.

When BBC Verify approached the Israeli military, it admitted it had carried out an artillery strike and said the incident was the result of “technical and operational errors.”

Troops had fired toward a specific target but the artillery deviated and “wrongfully hit the Mawasi area” in Khan Younis, the military said, without providing any evidence to support its claims.

The blast took place in an area where displaced Palestinians had been sheltering. The footage showed bloodied bodies surrounded by dust clouds, BBC said. Women and children could be seen running and screaming as they watched injured people being carried away.

The broadcaster emphasized the rarity of the Israeli military acknowledging errors. BBC Verify’s analysis of its official Telegram account identified four previous instances where it admitted to mistakes or technical and operational errors related to the war in Gaza.


Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills three journalists

Updated 06 June 2025
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Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills three journalists

  • Committee to Protect Journalists denounces attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital courtyard

LONDON: Three journalists were killed and four others injured in an Israeli strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital’s courtyard in central Gaza, drawing condemnations from media rights groups.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the attack struck a media tent and identified the victims as Ismail Badah, a cameraman for Palestine Today TV channel, which is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group; Soliman Hajaj, a Palestine Today editor; and Samir A-Refai of the Shams News network.

The strike injured 30 others, including four journalists. Among them were Imad Daloul, a correspondent for Palestine Today, and Ahmed Qalja, a cameraman for Qatar-based Al-Araby TV, both are reported to be in critical condition.

The syndicate accused Israel of “a full-fledged war crime” that “reflects a deliberate and systematic policy aimed at silencing the Palestinian narrative.” It said that targeting journalists “within the grounds of a hospital constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike targeted “an Islamic Jihad terrorist who was operating in a command-and-control center” in the hospital’s yard, without providing details or evidence.

In a statement on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack, calling for international action to stop Israel from targeting journalists “based on unsubstantiated terrorism claims.”

CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said: “These are not isolated incidents, but systematic attacks by Israel on the media. This disturbing and deliberate pattern must end.

“The killing of journalists in a hospital courtyard on the holy day of Yawm Al-Arafah — preceding Eid Al-Adha — underscores the relentless dangers facing the media in Gaza.”


BBC journalists detained at gunpoint in southern Syria

Updated 05 June 2025
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BBC journalists detained at gunpoint in southern Syria

  • BBC sent complaint to Israeli military about the incident

LONDON: Israeli Defense Forces detained, blindfolded, tied up and strip-searched at gunpoint seven members of a BBC Arabic crew as they approached the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a BBC journalist said on Thursday. 

Feras Kilani, a British special correspondent for BBC Arabic, said he was among the team detained for seven hours at a checkpoint near the barrier of Quneitra city, located within the buffer zone between Syria and Israel.

“A minute after we started filming in the area, a white car approached from the other side of the checkpoint. Four Israeli soldiers got out of the car and surrounded us. They pointed their rifles at our heads and ordered us to place the camera on the side of the road,” wrote Kilani in a BBC article.

The crew’s phones and laptops were inspected, with some files deleted, and their vehicle was thoroughly searched as they were led into a room, tied up and blindfolded.

Kilani’s team included two Iraqi BBC staff members and four Syrians, among them three freelancers and a cameraman.

“I pleaded to the officer to release them, and he promised to do so after the interrogations. They were taken one by one to the same room for strip search and questioning.”

Kilani said the team was also threatened before their release in the evening: “The officer threatened us with worse consequences if we approached the frontier from the Syrian side again and said that they know everything about us and would track us down if any hidden or un-deleted photo was ever published.”

In a statement, the BBC said it had filed a complaint with the Israeli military over the incident but had yet to receive a response.

“The BBC strongly objects to the treatment of our staff and freelancers in this way. Despite making clear to the soldiers on multiple occasions they were working for the BBC, the behavior they were subjected to is wholly unacceptable,” the broadcaster said. 


YouTube educator says she is ready to risk career for Gaza’s children

Updated 05 June 2025
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YouTube educator says she is ready to risk career for Gaza’s children

  • Ms Rachel says personal encounters with Palestinian families compel her to act

LONDON: American children’s educator and YouTuber Rachel Griffin Accurso, known globally as Ms Rachel, has said she is willing to jeopardize her career to advocate for Palestinian children suffering under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

Ms Rachel said she had been targeted by online campaigns and faced calls for government investigation after voicing support for children affected by war in Gaza and elsewhere.

Despite growing criticism from some pro-Israel groups and conservative media, she said she remained defiant in a recent interview with WBUR, a Boston-based public radio station.

She said: “I would risk everything — and I will risk my career over and over to stand up for children. It’s all about the kids for me. I wouldn’t be Ms Rachel if I didn’t deeply care about all kids.”

Her comments came as humanitarian agencies continue to sound the alarm over conditions in Gaza, where more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the UN has warned that the enclave faces imminent famine.

The YouTube star said a recent meeting with Palestinian mothers, whose children remain trapped in Gaza, had had a profound effect on her. She said: “When you sit with a mother who’s FaceTiming her boys in Gaza who don’t have food, and you see that anguish, you ask yourself: What more can I do?”

Ms Rachel recently published about her encounter with Rahaf, 3, a double amputee from Gaza who was evacuated for medical treatment in the US by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Rahaf’s story, including her wish to return to school and stand while praying, has been shared by Ms Rachel on her social media platforms, alongside the educator’s advocacy for children in Gaza.

Ms Rachel has faced accusations of bias, including a call by a pro-Israel organization urging the US attorney general to investigate her messaging. She acknowledged the pressure, but insisted her mission remains unchanged.

She said: “It’s painful, but I know who I am, and I know how deeply and equally I care for all children.”

A former teacher in New York, Ms Rachel said her work had always been rooted in the principle that all children, regardless of nationality or background, deserved dignity, safety, and access to basic needs.

She added: “That’s the basis of everything for me — children are equal.”


BBC defends Gaza coverage after White House criticism over aid site reporting

Updated 04 June 2025
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BBC defends Gaza coverage after White House criticism over aid site reporting

  • White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the BBC of taking “the word of Hamas with total truth,” claimed the corporation had retracted a story about aid distribution center incident in Rafah on Sunday
  • BBC rejected accusations as “completely wrong,” saying figures were attributed and updated throughout the day based on information from a range of sources

LONDON: The BBC has strongly defended its reporting of a deadly incident near a US-backed aid distribution site in Gaza, rejecting criticism from the White House as “incorrect” and denying claims that it had taken down a story.

The row erupted after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a press briefing on Tuesday, accused the BBC of relying on information from Hamas in its initial reporting of a shooting near an aid distribution center in Rafah on Sunday.

Leavitt also claimed the BBC had retracted a story — a claim the broadcaster called “completely wrong.”

“The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism,” the BBC said in a statement.

Leavitt’s remarks came in response to questions about reports that Israeli forces had opened fire near the aid site. Holding printed screenshots from the BBC website, she accused the broadcaster of changing casualty figures in multiple headlines and said it had “corrected and taken down” its report.

“The administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth,” she said.

Leavitt’s remarks came in response to questions about reports that Israeli forces had opened fire near the aid site. AP/File

Leavitt listed a series of changing headlines: “We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines, they wrote, ‘Israeli tank kills 26’, ‘Israeli tank kills 21’, ‘Israeli gunfire kills 31’, ‘Red Cross says, 21 people were killed in an aid incident.’”

“And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying: ‘We reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything,’” she said.

The BBC issued a swift rebuttal, emphasizing that all casualty figures were clearly attributed and updated throughout the day based on information from a range of sources — standard practice in any fast-moving situation, especially during conflict.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, at least 31 people were killed in the gunfire. The International Committee of the Red Cross later confirmed that 21 people had died. Initial reports from local medics cited 15 dead.

The numbers were “always clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of ‘at least 21’ at their field hospital,” the BBC statement said.

“Our news stories and headlines about Sunday’s aid distribution center incident were updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources … This is totally normal practice on any fast-moving news story.

“Completely separately, a BBC Verify online report on Monday reported a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution center it claimed to show.

“This video did not run on BBC news channels and had not informed our reporting. Conflating these two stories is simply misleading,” it added.

Witnesses, NGOs and local health officials said that civilians had been shot at while waiting for food at the Rafah aid point. The Israeli military denied these claims and said its forces had not fired at civilians. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed private group overseeing aid distribution, dismissed the reports as “outright fabrications.”

On Wednesday, GHF announced a temporary suspension of its operations in Gaza, citing security concerns. The Israeli army warned that roads leading to aid centers were now considered “combat zones.”

The closure follows a string of deadly incidents that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned as “unacceptable” and potentially “war crimes.”

The information war surrounding the conflict — now in its 21st month — has intensified, with both Israel and Hamas battling to control the narrative.

Independent reporting from Gaza remains limited. Israel continues to bar international media, including the BBC, from entering the territory, forcing news organizations to rely on local journalists, social media and unofficial channels.

Many local reporters are working under extreme physical and psychological pressure and are themselves frequent targets of Israeli airstrikes.

The BBC reiterated its call for unimpeded media access and urged the White House to support that demand.

“It’s important that accurate journalism is respected,” said Jonathan Munro, deputy director of BBC News. “And that governments call for free access to Gaza.”