{"id":47531,"date":"2021-02-21T00:45:05","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T00:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=54961"},"modified":"2021-02-21T00:45:05","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T00:45:05","slug":"facebooks-australia-ban-threatens-to-leave-pacific-without-key-news-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/21\/facebooks-australia-ban-threatens-to-leave-pacific-without-key-news-source\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook\u2019s Australia ban threatens to leave Pacific without key news source"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pf-content\"><p><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/sheldon-chanel\">Sheldon Chanel<\/a> in Suva<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Facebook\u2019s ban on Australian news will cut off a vital source of authoritative information for the Pacific region, government and industry analysts have warned.<\/p>\n<p>Across the Pacific, thousands have found their access to news blocked, or severely limited, after the tech giant wiped all news on the platform in Australia in response to proposed legislation that would require Facebook to pay for content from media groups.<\/p>\n<p>The ban\u2019s impact is especially acute in Australia\u2019s region.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-google-is-now-funnelling-millions-into-media-outlets-as-facebook-pulls-news-for-australia-155468\">READ MORE: <\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-google-is-now-funnelling-millions-into-media-outlets-as-facebook-pulls-news-for-australia-155468\">Why Google is now funnelling millions into media outlets, as Facebook pulls news for Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2021\/feb\/18\/facebook-condemned-in-uk-and-us-for-attempt-to-bully-democracy\">Facebook under fire over move to &#8216;bully democracy&#8217; in Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/googles-and-facebooks-loud-appeal-to-users-over-the-news-media-bargaining-code-shows-a-lack-of-political-power-154379\">Google\u2019s and Facebook\u2019s loud appeal to users over the news media bargaining code shows a lack of political power<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/world\/436813\/facebook-back-at-negotiating-table-with-australia-morrison-says\">Facebook back at negotiating table with Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meaa.org\/mediaroom\/facebook-move-reinforces-need-for-a-news-media-bargaining-code\/\">Facebook move reinforces need for a News Media Bargaining Code<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/jeraa.org.au\/jeraa-demands-facebook-stop-blocking-australians-from-receiving-news\/\">JERAA demands Facebook stop blocking Australians from receiving news <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Across the Pacific, thousands of people are on pre-paid data phone plans which include cheap access to Facebook. Those on limited incomes can get news through the social network, but cannot go to original source websites without using more data, and spending more money.<\/p>\n<p>The region\u2019s largest telco provider, Digicel, with a presence in Fiji, Nauru, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/papua-new-guinea\">Papua New Guinea<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/samoa\">Samoa<\/a>, Tonga and Vanuatu, offers affordable mobile data plans with free or cheap access to Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>In Australia, news from Pacific sites also appeared to be blocked, a significant impediment for diaspora communities and seasonal workers.<\/p>\n<p>From Australia, <em>The Guardian<\/em> visited the <em>Samoa Observer, Vanuatu Daily Post, The Fiji Times,<\/em> and Papua New Guinea\u2019s <em>Post-Courier<\/em>. None had visible posts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Significant expatriate communities<\/strong><br \/>\nSamoa, Vanuatu, Fiji and PNG all have significant expatriate communities in Australia.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_54967\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54967\" style=\"width: 680px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-54967 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Samoa-Observer-FBGuard-680wide.png\" alt=\"Samoa Observer FB\" width=\"680\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Samoa-Observer-FBGuard-680wide.png 680w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Samoa-Observer-FBGuard-680wide-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-54967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Samoa Observer newspaper\u2019s Facebook page has been blocked in Australia as part of Facebook\u2019s ban on news on its platform in that country Image: The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dr Amanda Watson, a research fellow at the Australian National University\u2019s Coral Bell School of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/asia-pacific\">Asia Pacific<\/a> Affairs, and a researcher in digital technology use in the Pacific, said there was widespread confusion across the Pacific about the practical ramifications of Facebook\u2019s Australian news ban.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has not been any clear, accessible and accurate information put out for Facebook users or anything particularly targeted at Facebook users in the Pacific that has explained parameters of this decision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Watson said that for many in the Pacific, Facebook was the entry point to, and even the extent of, the internet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFacebook is the primary platform, because a number of telco providers offer cheaper Facebook data, or bonus Facebook data. Many Pacific Islanders might know how to do some basic Facebooking, but it\u2019s questionable if they would be able to open an internet search engine and search for news, or go to a particular web address.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are technical confidence issues, and that\u2019s linked to education levels in the Pacific, and how long people have had access to the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bob Howarth, country correspondent for Timor-Leste and PNG for Reporters Sans Fronti\u00e8res media freedom watchdog, and the former managing director and publisher of PNG\u2019s <em>Post-Courier,<\/em> said \u201cthe Facebook ban on Australian news pages will have a significant impact on Pacific users, especially many regional news providers\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sharing breaking news<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cAs someone who regularly checks literally dozens of Facebook pages, especially in PNG and Timor-Leste, many use the Australian pages for sharing breaking news and a source of ideas and angles for their own news reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Articles reposted from Australian news sources are often used in the Pacific to rebut misinformation being spread on Facebook, Dr Watson and Howarth said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne very popular page in PNG seems to attract more than its fair share of <em>long-longs<\/em> [an ill-informed person in pidgin] opposing vaccination as the covid pandemic quietly spreads daily,\u201d Howarth said.<\/p>\n<p>The founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/Pacificnewsroom\"><em>The Pacific Newsroom<\/em><\/a>, Sue Ahearn, told <em>The Guardian<\/em> the internet had revolutionised communications across the Pacific \u2013 historically a region where communication had been difficult \u2013 and enabled the instantaneous sharing of news and information that had previously taken weeks or months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFacebook and social media are not the be all and end all but they are vital as sources of information. Radio and TV and newspapers remain important, but technology has really woken up the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People are able to share material right around the region and Facebook is the key platform for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ahearn said the dissemination of accurate and impartial news was vital to countering misinformation across the region.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Misinformation in PNG<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cFor instance, there is so much misinformation in PNG on covid \u2013 people say \u2018I don\u2019t believe Melanesians can catch covid\u2019 or \u2018I don\u2019t believe what the government says about vaccines\u2019. It\u2019s really important that that misinformation can be countered, and articles from Australian sources are valuable for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ahearn said the <em>Pacific Newsroom<\/em> Facebook page had been \u201coverwhelmed\u201d with responses to the Facebook Australian news ban.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom people all around the world: Fijians in South Sudan, Tongans in Utah, Pacific Islanders are everywhere, and they are telling us they are not seeing anything out of Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Australia\u2019s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, has labelled Facebook\u2019s actions \u201cdisappointing\u201d, and argued the tech giant was \u201cimpeding public access to high-quality journalism in Australia and across the Pacific\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn many Pacific countries Facebook is the primary avenue to access legitimate Australian news content, and for many Pacific Islanders, Australian news is a key source of reliable, fact-checked, balanced information,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>William Easton, the managing director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, said Australia\u2019s proposed media bargaining law had misunderstood the nature of the relationship between the platform and news publishers, and had forced the tech company into restricting news in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>He said the company had chosen to block news \u201cwith a heavy heart\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, this means people and news organisations in Australia are now restricted from posting news links and sharing or viewing Australian and international news content on Facebook. Globally, posting and sharing news links from Australian publishers is also restricted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/sheldon-chanel\">Sheldon Chanel<\/a> is a Suva-based journalist reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/series\/the-pacific-project\">The Guardian&#8217;s Pacific Project<\/a> supported by the Judith Nielson Institute. This article was first published by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/feb\/19\/facebooks-australia-ban-threatens-to-leave-pacific-without-key-news-source\">The Guardian here<\/a> and it has been republished with the author and The Guardian&#8217;s permission.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/2021\/02\/21\/facebooks-australia-ban-threatens-to-leave-pacific-without-key-news-source\/\">Asia Pacific Report<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sheldon Chanel in Suva Facebook\u2019s ban on Australian news will cut off a vital source of authoritative information for the Pacific region, government and industry analysts have warned. Across the Pacific, thousands have found their access to news blocked, or severely limited, after the tech giant wiped all news on the platform in Australia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,338,432,5015,9319,725,5,495,365,6,94,1940,652,345,524,9270,12,366,14,16,1743,9320,9321,3347,4623],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47531"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57719,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47531\/revisions\/57719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}