Facebook Introduces ‘Today In’ – A Local News Feature Present Across 400 US Cities

• Facebook is expanding its 'Local' feature that offers access to local news, alerts, road data, crime reports, and other announcements.
• The new feature called 'Today In' was first launched in January in six cities.
• The service is free from any kind of monetization or paid listings.

Facebook is trying to clear its image of being a hotspot for misinformation with its new ‘Today In’ feature. The feature was first announced in early 2018, and it is finally ready for a large-scale rollout with over 400 cities in the US and Australia receiving access to it. ‘Today In’ will offer local information like news, alerts, crime reports, school announcements and more.

Facebook has made it clear that the new feature will be devoid of any kind of advertising or paid listings to prevent manipulation. The new feature is part of the social media company’s Journalism project that seeks to bolster the news industry, especially local news.

The new feature was heavily requested by users as it is an expansion of the trending feature that was ditched earlier this year. The Trending feature was heavily criticized as it prevented users from hiding select topics entirely.

If you want to check if the “Today In” feature is available at your location, simply tap on the menu icon in your Facebook app and scroll down. If you have access to the feature, you will be able to choose to see all of your local updates right on your News Feed. The feature is currently limited to small and mid-sized cities, but it will see a global expansion soon.

Facebook is yet to offer insights on how content is selected by the algorithm, and it seems like it is tailored by geography. There are software filters in place to prevent objectionable content from showing up on your News Feed unless it is posted by one of your friends. The platform will have to tackle fake news as it is becoming a major issue for social media websites.

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