One in three Aussies get their news from Facebook, but the content is set for the axe – and it could cause chaos

One in four Australians use social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram as their main source of news, despite Meta’s plans to abolish paid news content deals.

Up to 32 percent of Aussies use Facebook to access news, according to the Digital News Report 2024 led by the University of Canberra and the Reuters Institute.

The report shows that three out of four Gen Z generations (74 percent) access news on social media – an increase of 15 percentage points from last year.

Generation Z is increasingly using social media as their main source of news, while engagement with online, radio and print news has declined by 49 percent.

The report shows that TV remains the most important source of news for 74 percent of boomers, 57 percent of Generation X and 77 percent of Generation Y.

Online news websites were the main source of news for 59 percent of Generation Y.

Overall, television as the main source of news has fallen by four percent since last year.

One in four Australians use social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram as their main source of news, despite Meta’s plans to ax paid news content deals (stock image)

The survey was conducted before Meta announced it would end paid news content deals, citing a sharp decline in interest.

The US company cited a drop in traffic to the Facebook News Tab in its decision not to renew commercial deals with Australian news publishers.

Meta said the number of people accessing the dedicated news tab in Australia and the US fell by 80 percent by 2023.

However, Facebook remains the leading social media platform for news in Australia.

Crystal Andrews, founder and editor of Zee Feed, said Meta Apps were important news outlets for millions of Australians.

“Whether we like it or not, Facebook and Instagram have become important news channels for millions of Australians,” she wrote in the report.

“Banning news would be a devastating blow to small publications, newsmakers and the overall diversity of the media landscape.”

Ms Andrews said removing social media news outlets would result in a population less engaged with the news and more reliant on the opinions of ‘ordinary people’ reflecting their own views.

“Whether this will increase the spread of misinformation and poor journalistic practices as much as some parts of the mainstream media does is open to debate,” she said.

In March, Meta announced it would not renew commercial deals with publishers, following similar steps with European media organizations in September.

“We will not enter into any new commercial deals for traditional news content in (Australia, France, Germany, the US and the UK) and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future,” the statement said.

The company said it would close the Facebook News feature on its Australian and US platforms in April and focus its investments on content such as short-form video as “people don’t come to Facebook for news and political content”.

The report shows that three out of four Gen Z generations (74 percent) access news on social media – an increase of 15 percentage points from last year (stock image)

But Meta’s changes won’t restore Australia’s short-lived news ban.

“People will still be able to view links to news articles on Facebook,” the report said.

“News publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and pages, where they can post links to their stories and direct people to their websites, in the same way that other individuals or organizations can.”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland denounced the move, saying it would impact the news media industry.

“It is an abrogation of responsibility to the Australian news media sector,” she said.

“Australian news media publishers deserve to be fairly compensated for the investments they make in them.”