Facebook's Original News Programming To Debut July 16

Facebook came under fire during and after the 2016 presidential election because the huge social network became a major platform for the spread of “fake news.” Nearly two years later, Facebook will debut its first fully funded, original news programming from mainstream media outlets, starting on Monday, according to Engadget.

Facebook’s news initiative kicks off on July 16 with the debut of “Fox News Update.” As its title suggests, “Fox News Update” will be a daily news report hosted by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It is a weekday show that, like the rest of Facebook’s upcoming news slate, will be hosted on the Facebook Watch platform.

“Fox News Update” will be joined that week by programming from a variety of sources. CNN’s Anderson Cooper will get his own show, as will online outlets like Buzzfeed and Mic. More traditional media outlets like Univision and ABC will have original programming, too.

Facebook announced this initiative in June in a company blog post. More detailed descriptions of some of the aforementioned shows can be found there. Facebook also put together a short preview video showing off its upcoming slate at the time.

Facebook insisted each outlet will get full editorial control over their shows, even though Facebook is funding them. The program appears to be an attempt by the company to save some face after it gained a reputation as a cesspool of misinformation in recent years.

By courting news coverage from places like Mic and Buzzfeed, Facebook might try to win back younger people who have shunned the site as a news source, according to a recent study. That might not entirely fit with the fact that Facebook wants users to spend less time on the app, but these news programs will likely generate valuable ad revenue to make up for people giving more of their lives to Facebook.

Whether or not this makes Facebook seem like a more reputable news source remains to be seen. Studies in recent years have found that Americans do not have a great deal of trust in the kinds of mainstream news outlets that will have programming on Facebook Watch.