Facebook commits $100 million to journalism amid the coronavirus outbreak

Facebook has pledged $100 million to support the news industry during the coronavirus crisis, the company announced Monday. 

The company will grant $25 million to local news funding through its Facebook Journalism Project, as well as $75 million in additional marketing spending, with the goal “to move money over to news organizations around the world.” Of course, Facebook and Google’s dominance of the internet ad market is a major factor in why it’s so difficult for local newspapers to survive in the first place. 

“At a time when journalism is needed more than ever, ad revenues are declining due to the economic impact of the virus. Local journalists are being hit especially hard, even as people turn to them for critical information to keep their friends, families and communities safe,” the company said in a blog post. 

Facebook announced who would receive the first round of grants: 50 local newsrooms in the U.S. and Canada, including South Carolina’s The Post and Courier, Missouri’s Southeast Missourian, and Texas’ El Paso Matters. The Post and Courier took down its paywall for coronavirus stories, while the Southeast Missourian started publishing email newsletters that highlight coronavirus coverage. 

Facebook says this latest round of grants builds on the $300 million that it already pledged to invest in local news outlets. 

Earlier this month, Facebook co-signed a joint statement with Google, Twitter and other industry heavyweights, pledging to combat fraud and misinformation about the coronavirus. And in February, the company started banning ads for supposed cures for the virus. 

COVID-19 — the disease caused by coronavirus — has so far killed more than 30,000 and infected more than 638,000 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with more than 139,700 confirmed cases and 2,429 deaths.