Illustration by Carlos PX (http://payforlayers.com/)
Facebook has announced plans to invest an additional $8 million over the next three years to support the sustainability of Canada's news industry. The company's Journalism Project has invested over $10 million in partnerships and programs in the country over the last four years. The social network also plans to extend the Facebook-Canadian Press News Fellowship through to 2024.
This additional funding will "help ensure that publishers of all sizes can fairly access these funds, especially small and local publishers." Facebook also wants to use this investment to build programs to help strengthen under-represented voices in journalism. Facebook plans to release details on specific partnerships and programs soon.
It's worth mentioning that Facebook recently drew heavy criticism after a temporary news ban on its platform in Australia when the Australian government proposed legislation that would force Google and Facebook to pay its local publishers for news content.
Source: Facebook