Facebook Testing Local News Section Called 'Today In'

Facebook is testing a new feature in its app where it will have city-specific local news, events and announcements available on its platform.

The test is currently live for a new section called 'Today In' in six US cities, Recode reported on Wednesday, citing a company spokesperson. The cities are New Orleans, Little Rock, Billings, Peoria, Olympia, and Binghampton.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Users in test markets will be able to access the feature through the bottom-right menu button on Facebook.

A machine learning (ML) software will power the "Today In" section, helping a team find local content.

Local news publishers will be approved by Facebook's News Partnerships team, which is being headed by NBC news anchor Campbell Brown, the spokesperson added.

The move comes as part of Facebook's Journalism Project announced in January last year to curb the spread of fake news on its platform and build out local news partnerships, the spokesperson said.

Last year, the social media giant also tested products to connect its users to local news, including the Facebook Local standalone app.

Written with inputs from IANS