Facebook follows Google with funds to support journalism

FILE - This Jan. 17, 2017, file photo shows a Facebook logo displayed in a start-up companies gathering at Paris' Station F in Paris. Facebook says it is investing $300 million over the next three years in local news programs, partnerships and other initiatives. The cash investment includes reporting grants for local newsrooms and investing in nonprofits aimed at helping support local news. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

WASHINGTON: Facebook announced Jan 15 that it will invest US$300mil (RM1.23bil) over three years to support journalism, with an emphasis on promoting hard-hit local news organisations. 

The move, on the heels of a similar initiative by Google last year, comes with online platforms dominating the Internet advertising ecosystem, making it harder for legacy news organisations to make a transition to digital.