42 comments

1. Kaye LeeFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:13 pm

   News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says the deal with Google has breathed “new confidence” into the local news industry in Australia and gives the business model of journalism a much-needed boost.

   Miller said Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch and chief executive Robert Thomson’s long campaign to make tech accountable had paid off.

   “Thanks to [Thomson’s] leadership over the many years since the entire industry can now return to a sustainable model.”

   ……

   So Murdoch gets money from the government, money from Google, money from paywalls, money from pay tv subscription, and the rest of us get cutoff from facebook where people share our articles.

   Yup

2. GrahamFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:27 pm

   Am I missing out on something because of Facebook’s actions? I have half a dozen news websites bookmarked and can send links to any story on any of them to anyone at any time.

3. Michael TaylorFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:29 pm

   The irony is that all of Murdoch’s Australian media sites have also been removed from Facebook.

   But that’s no help to us.

   One of our Twitter followers messaged me with what he thinks is a way around it. It looks complicated, but I’ll give it a try.

4. jon chestersonFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:38 pm

   ‘Would you charge me if I offered you a lift to the supermarket to get your groceries?’ – Murdoch would and does while the rest of us are starved of credible news and forced onto Murdoch’s paywalled website to pay for shit that ensure Morrison, Frydenberg and the Liberal National misfits unlike Trump get elected again. This is a frontal assault on independent media and journalism disguised and engineered to lob the blame on Facebook – political, financial and social blackmail. And yes Kaye, Murdoch has pulled it off again, and all the smaller independent and authentic media plus Australians, all of us have been blindsided by the Australian Federal Government who have gone to war on all our basic freedoms in one countermeasure.

   As we speak the Liberal spin doctors and Federal ministers are all out, suffocating ABC News, our ABC propagating the victim myth, citing government news and information also being blocked – What the fuck did they expect!

   We need to bust this myth currently being perpetrated by our federal government.

5. Baby JewelsFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:45 pm

   As I read elsewhere: “If you control information, you control minds, if you control minds, you control the people. That is what the LNP are trying to do. That and give Murdoch more profits and influence.”

   I don’t think many people are aware of what a dark day this is, in Australian history. I can see how the Germans were won over to the dark side in 1930.

6. Baby JewelsFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:46 pm

   I have always shared from my online newspapers, to Fb. Today, I’m copying and pasting or, for small articles, screenshotting. So far they are not being taken down by Fb. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

7. KronomexFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:48 pm

   The bicycle rack that is the LNP will continue to bend over as long as the big end of town and the main sleaze media keep them topped up with cash, positive news stories, and the promises of lobbying, I mean positions that will benefit all ‘strayans, jobs when they leave.

   If I was bloody minded I would remove the Liberal, National, One Nation, Clive (mustn’t forget Clive) and other right wing political parties from Facebook for a month and then see what happens. Sadly, I would also have to include Labor and others because the screams of outrage about bias would shatter just about every window in the country.

   Scotty and crew will be scrambling to find some way out of the problem they have created and try and make sure they come out of it all shiny, sparkling and clean and blameless.

8. jon chestersonFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:53 pm

   Graham, are you in Australia posting those links on FB in Australia? I have already tried that method, it too is blocked. Unlike many, I am not dependent on FB or TV for my media feeds, shares and news sources.

   I have all my preferred and independent news sources in Australia and world wide bookmarked on Google and Safari, I get feeds from Apple every day on my iPhone and Mac all feeding my preferred channels and links and any I have not actively blocked.

   I have actively blocked all news and media sources from the Murdoch, News Corps, Fox and Sky associated empires on my devices, so they can no longer harass me with their monopolistic fuckery.

   I have all the choices I ever wanted, but I cannot share any real news to counter the bleeding heart, manufactured outrage and propaganda put out by the Australian Federal Government, the Liberals, the IPA Think Tank, Murdoch/News Corps and related sycophants.

   But sadly many Australians don’t have the time or capacity to customise their news like this and we can’t help them that easily. This is precisely where the federal government and News Corps want us. It’s a coup by any other means.

9. Kaye LeeFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:57 pm

   From Michael West’s facebook page….

   Dear Facebook friends and readers, we can no longer post news links. Please support us on other platforms such as Twitter, Youtube and email. Sadly, Facebook – you good people reading and sharing – accounted for about one-third of our traffic. So, the government’s intervention to prop up News Corp, Nine and Seven – its friendly media outlets – is helping to destroy independent, innovative operators such as MW. We get no subsidies, only community support. We have been told by Google insiders that it is very unlikely we will get any payments under the Code.
   We’ll fight on. Thanks as always for your support!

10. Jon ChestersonFebruary 18, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    I cannot for the life of me understand a government code that facilitates, no mandates! third party payments to Murdoch, News Corps, Sky News, Fox News, Nine, Seven and Ten – the media giants who already profit from government subsidies, tax concessions, tax evasion, advertising, pay walls, subscriptions, street sales, Google and now the privilege of links to their news page sources (not just for free, but for obscene payment), while smaller and authentic media companies and independent journalism are left out i the cold.

    We hear Frydenberg and Morrison bleating on about fair laws, rules and codes and this just isn’t so. This is an excuse for the large scale right wing corporate press in bed with the Liberals and our Federal Government to gain unrivalled political, economic and social power/monopoly over the airwaves, controlling and bankrolling what they want us to read and digest.

    Meanwhile all others are excluded from these deals, including the ABC and SBS, who today have become the compromised muzzled mouthpieces of all the propaganda and sympathy outrage our federal government is engineering today. Where is the voice of the Opposition?

    It is outrageous, it is bleak, it is dark and it should be illegal. But the Liberals create the legislation for their political advantage and partisan interests – Not the good of Australia, the nation and the people.

    Facebook and Google have been played right into their game plan on both counts despite their differing responses.

    Meanwhile we have to put up with Morrison’s and Frydenberg’s self righteousness on the ABC platform, unrelenting all the way to the dog house. The ABC too is spreading this junk!

    As for News Corps, they are having field day, sipping champagne and caviar in private with the Liberals and IPA – All sewn up.

11. A CommentarorFebruary 18, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    As I said…Facebook’s business model is to take material belonging to other parties (for free) and use it to encourage consumption of their product.
    Who else does that?
    I note also, the union supporting journalists endorse the legislation

12. David EvansFebruary 18, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    Wouldn’t NOW be a good time for a GLOBAL boycott of all murdoch product?

13. WilliambtmFebruary 18, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I am an Australian citizen with an independent view of Australia’s current leadership government. I offer my opinion as to how a leadership Liberal/National coalition government party can now be so keenly intent on deluding the common Australian citizens?
    The behavior, conduct, and attitudes of that political party species are clearly bespoke as anti-the-Australian-people, now add to that the tyranny of this nation’s mainstream media…thus the people of Australia cannot and will not put up with this form of despotic governance.
    I ask the readers of this comment to read the below link’s content; it highlights the principle tenets held in Australia’s Commonwealth Constitution?
    Then ask yourself whether this current L/NP government consists of anything other than privileged greed toads governing much like despotic overlords. [To hell with those old dust-covered somewhat ancient principles, as they really had become rather tedious.)

    https://www.australianconstitutioncentre.org.au/the-six- principles.html#:~:text=The%20underlying%20principles%20of%20the,and%20rights%20balanced%20by%20responsibilities.

    For those who think otherwise, ask your local government minister if Australia’s former citizens’ welfare budget (since heavily chopped) is now equal to, or even more of, that volume of Australia’s annual revenues now being zipped off to the make-believe CIA-inspired US of A military alliance?
    When now, and all the while (is being kept out of the news headlines) held under the blathered pretext of this government’s trumpeting of “how great is that USA nation?”
    [When all these very same greed-toads are disempowering our very own sovereign nation.]

    The last question; is the USA government and its roaring military might anything other than a propaganda-propelled war-mongering nation incapable of being trusted by each and all other nations?
    Thank you.

14. KerriFebruary 18, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    One of my concerns is that cutting off reputable published news services (not Murdich’s) will result in people writing their own inaccurate stories that will then be taken as gospel?
    DOES ANYONE KNOW IF IT WOULD HAVE ANY EFFECT TO RAMRAID JOSH AND SCUMMO’S FACBOOK AND MAKE OFFICIAL, COMPLAINTS THAT THEIR POSTS ARE “IRRELEVANT”.??.

15. jon chestersonFebruary 18, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    Hi again Kaye and others. Until or if Michael finds a way around the problem or FB retract their action over Australia today and I don’t think they will. I certainly wouldn’t acquiesce to the Federal Government’s demands and corruption (legislated or not) and political blackmail to take FB users to the media ‘supermarket chains’ costing me hundreds of millions of dollars, in effect an open cheque book for the decision to share/posting a link to the news source by an unlimited number of third parties. A law so partisan, ill informed and arbitrary as to do nothing to ensure partisan compliance. Note the smaller independent media are not included in the Google deals and this law will not mandate it, only the big ‘supermarket chains’. Hell I wouldn’t even put the government news and information website links back other than clearly for emergency services. FB are not breaking the law, they are opting out by blocking the posting of links.

    Till then, authors here can post the text of their articles directly (their choice in consultation with the AIM Network) and foot the body of their text with a citation ‘published in the AIM Network’, which is what I have done. This way, without the link or share functions, full article text or briefs could be shared by others on FB. No links, images can be included in the usual FB way and I, it appears at the top of search results. You don’t really need a link. If you google search the AIM Network, it comes up first and it’s only one click away to read the article direct as published on the AIM website – mission accomplished. This is in effect the process FB are expected to pay millions of dosh for. This will support the AIM Network’s exposure noting you say it accounts for at east one third of the readership or hits.

    This article can be shared from FB if you go to:

    If you go to my FB page https://www.facebook.com/jon.chesterson you can share this text of article with image from there.

    I have posted it in about 20 groups including Friends of Guardian Australia (public group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsGuardianAus ;

    Friends who like GetUP (public) https://www.facebook.com/groups/2051437055102578 ; and

    Social Justice in Australia (public) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1642328902547297 ;

    …. many of which Michael regularly posts them in.

    If the links don’t appear here, perhaps Michael can facilitate this. We do need to get this information out there (cudos to the AIM Network) as the Australian Federal Government currently have everyone’s ears with their misinformation and propaganda.

16. Michael TaylorFebruary 18, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    A few years ago Facebook provided us with about 80% of our visitors. Since we’ve been pushing ourselves on Twitter, Facebook has dropped to about 60%.

    There are exceptions: Grumpy Geezer’s post about Trump gave us about 100,000 hits from Facebook – mostly from American Facebook groups, and John Lord’s posts do well on Facebook due to his big following there. And one of Kaye Lee’s posts gave us 2,500 hits from Twitter – a record.

    As I admin a number of Facebook groups I’ve noticed that they are all losing members, suggesting that Facebook isn’t as popular as it was a few years ago.

    Nonetheless, Facebook still provides us with the bulk of our visitors, so this latest drama is disturbing.

    So what do we do? Clearly, we look elsewhere.

    We currently have 3,200 email subscribers, which is an excellent start. We are also getting better exposure on Twitter, which is also good.

    That leaves Google (while we’ve still got it). We can get more traffic from Google by making use of SEO (search engine optimisation) that puts our articles further up the page of Google searches. This site has an SEO program working in the background, but here’s a tip for all authors (that helps the SEO): Pick a key word (or phrase) and include it in your title, in your first paragraph, and about 7 or 8 times in your post.

    It could be “Scott Morrison”, “Trump singing”, “Australia”, “pineapples”, or anything.

    We’ll go in behind the scenes and do all the rest. You won’t even notice it.

    We will win. ✊

17. Pete PetrassFebruary 18, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    I am thinking although one might not be able to share links to local news articles surely one can just cut and paste the text into a post, or even attach images???

18. NeilwFebruary 18, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    Social media will simply write themselves into falling rates of profit. The rest of the world is developing alternative sites. In any event, we don’t have to comply with immoral laws (Sic). Nothing will restore the Scummo press’s credibility with thinking people.

19. GrahamFebruary 18, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    Jon Chesterton.

    I am in Australia but I don’t use Facebook. I use Whatsapp and Viber and deactivated links to any article I want to distribute (ie you get the link address but not an active link)

    Graham

20. Jack spratFebruary 18, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    As Julian Assange has stated the difference between him and Mark Zuckerberg is that Zuckerberg sells your private information to big business for billions of dollars and he is celebrated around the world , whilst Assange gives you the private information of big business for free and he ends up in jail .

21. Michael TaylorFebruary 18, 2021 at 8:25 pm

    People might have noticed that our articles are now being shared on Facebook. There’s nothing that a wee bit of code can’t fix.

    There is a catch though. They can only be shared via The AIMN Facebook page. Unfortunately nobody can see the posts there unless they are an admin on our Facebook page.

22. Matters NotFebruary 18, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    Jack Sprat, yes at a superficial level you are correct. Both Assange and Zuckerberg are in the information business but there’s a crucial difference (a principle) – one engages in a lawful activity and the other doesn’t.

    Of course one might argue that there’s a problem with the law (and there is) but in legal terms, it’s an important distinction. Sometimes, for example, what appears to be stealing is legal while in other situations it’s illegal and therefore subject to penalty.

    Should we have principles that can be universalised and enforceable or should we just make ad hoc decisions?

23. paul walterFebruary 18, 2021 at 10:56 pm

    Matters Not brings it to head for me.

    After a full day of MSM and politician hypocrisy at a pretty intense sort of level, I too observe the pile on similarities between Assange and Zuckerberg, not withstanding Jack sprat’s fair comment on motives, another aspect of the subject. Once again, we observe a deliberate tampering with of law and misuse of techniques of persuasion to ensure a outcome favourable to certain individuals and disadvantageous to others.

    Sad FB has been so clumsy. I understand they fear Canberra and Murdoch have introduced a stalking horse that could be applied elsewhere, and that is one factor MSM keeps VERY mum on.

    Which reminds me, I remain in awe of the sheer bias and myopia for nuance A Commentator shows relative to issues like this.

24. paul walterFebruary 18, 2021 at 11:14 pm

    Loved Jon Chesterton’s article and his comments.

    Like the one about Murdoch charging you for dropping him off at the shops.

25. Andrew J. SmithFebruary 19, 2021 at 2:45 am

    Hopefully more will see the NewsCorp shake down on Google/Facebook carried out by the LNP govt. for what it is, a raw or desperate power and income grab; frantically being spun by govt. and big media as good for diversity, regions and quality content, not.

    Facebook popularity had been declining pre Trump with younger generations, but increasing for middle aged and older, who adopted Facebook, especially after Smartphones were introduced.

    Earlier today, maybe via Crikey, a commenter had said their link related to an NGO news thingy was dropped, but late reinstated as they think Facebook is tweaking filters. Hopefully punishing NewsCorp et al but allowing and promoting other medium/small or indie outlets (while anyone can receive email news letters from preferred media vs. relying upon filtering of Facebook or friends sharing).

    Google is more concerning if something similar happens as many sole traders, small buinsess and SMEs are dependent upon their apprearance, through investment in SEO, in organic search results (locally, nationally and globally), the most trusted (vs. paid ads etc.).

    Finally, related to NewsCorp and their self defeating anti Victorian/Andrews campaign, from The Shot an article ‘Melbourne’s third lockdown was a five-day concentrated dose of 2020’s festering media bullshit…….It’s hard to look past the fact Melbourne is more immune to Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid tantrums than any city since Liverpool, and that is clearly why they despise us so much. I sincerely hope this quasi-newspaper’s violent, moronic death throes don’t drag on much longer.’

    Although a good article, I won’t post the link 🙂

26. BertFebruary 19, 2021 at 3:40 am

    I for one don’t use fb for news feeds…..ever. I’ve got the sites I want bookmarked (such as this one) and simply head straight to the source. I don’t use google either preferring Duck Duck Go. I’ve done a rough comparison on search results and the Duck Duck Go results are no different to google apart from the order.

27. Terence MillsFebruary 19, 2021 at 8:04 am

    Seems odd that the amount of time and effort our government is devoting to doing the bidding of Newscorp over a matter that is of very little concern to the average Australian.

    There must have been a considerable quid pro quo so I guess we can expect very favourable reporting on the Morrison government leading into an early election : it started in earnest last night on Sky-after-dark and was sickening.

    In case I’m missing something as, like Bert, I don’t use facebook for newsfeed, has the average Australian benefitted in any way from this stoush AND has Newscorp as a concession scrapped it’s paywall on digital platforms or do they expect to be paid twice for their newsfeed ?

28. wamFebruary 19, 2021 at 9:24 am

    the rabbott’s and scummo’s cunning plans fit baldrick’s pattern of failure but this one may be the splinter on the ladder as blackadder was blowing the whistle hope albo doesn’t ignore the chance of attacking scummo over this and keeps pushing support for ms higgins

29. Henry RodriguesFebruary 19, 2021 at 10:00 am

    wam….. I’m with you on this one. I suspect that Scummo and that idiot Josh are pouring more oil on the Facebook fire to deflect from the rape allegations particularly as to when Scummo knew about it. These guys are so transparent it makes your eyes water. If one has any doubt or feels inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, just look long and hard at Scummo’s body language and peer deep into his eyes. A dastardly misbegotten creature if ever there was one, backed up by Murdoch and Stokes and arsewipe Costello.

30. Terence MillsFebruary 19, 2021 at 10:05 am

    Michael

    Initially facebook cut a number of sites including COVID healthcare, BOM, local government and presumably AIMN.

    They seem to have reinstated those sites who were never going to expect payment anyhow : as regards AIMN how would facebook pay for your content and would you expect them to ?

    Incidentally I note that the government have been so preoccupied with this issue that a federal ICAC has been taken off the table – they used to call that the pea & thimble trick : now you see it, now you don’t !

31. Michael TaylorFebruary 19, 2021 at 10:58 am

    Hi Terry, we’re still locked out, but you might have read that we’ve had some code written that allows us to bypass the ban. People still can’t share our posts on Facebook, but they can share them via a group we’ve already shared to. It’s complex.

    Would I expect Facebook to pay? Never.

32. Kaye LeeFebruary 19, 2021 at 11:42 am

    I notice The Betoota Advocate and The Chaser fill nine of the top-ten-performing link posts by Australian Facebook pages yesterday

    The top-performing link posts by Australian Facebook pages on 18 Feb were from:

    1. The Chaser
    2. Betoota Advocate
    3. Betoota Advocate
    4. Betoota Advocate
    5. Ozzy Man Reviews
    6. The Chaser
    7. Betoota Advocate
    8. Betoota Advocate
    9. The Chaser
    10. Betoota Advocate

    — FacebookTop10AU (@FacebookTop10AU) February 18, 2021

33. Michael TaylorFebruary 19, 2021 at 11:55 am

    Hi Kaye. Grumpy Geezer pointed out to me yesterday that The Chaser and Betoota were probably classified as satirical sites instead of news/media sites, which made them immune.

    I went in to our Facebook group to change our classification but it was too late.

    But it all came good last night when one of our readers wrote the code for us to bypass the ban. And it works. He later gave it to The Guardian, but it didn’t work for them.

    I guess we’re lucky. I’d be silly not to take advantage of our luck before it runs out.

34. Michael TaylorFebruary 19, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    PS: Posts can also be shared by using the tiny URL, but they can only be shared in Facebook comments, and not as a Facebook post.

    PPS: Anybody going to our Facebook page will see that it is blank. Only the admin can see the posts. We add the code to the hyperlink of a post in our Facebook page and we share them to groups from there. That’s the only way we can share them on Facebook, but it’s better than nothing.

35. Harry LimeFebruary 19, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    Cheer up folks, all is not lost,there’s the sweet smell of blood in the wind, and it smells like the Prime Arsehole’s.The mountain of lies that has kept him propped up is about to fall on him.BTW,what’s fucking facebook?…I still use pigeons or flags.

36. Terence MillsFebruary 19, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    Zuckerberg goes to great lengths to avoid being legally classified as a publisher or editor as, should he be so classified he can then be sued for publishing fake news and defamatory material as is currently happening to Fox News over claims made by their hosts and guests of dodgy vote counting machines having influenced the election which is considered false and defamatory information : the damages being sought are in excess of a billion dollars and could bankrupt Fox News.

    If Zuckerberg starts paying content providers for their content, that could place Facebook in the role of a publisher and not just a platform. They then could be sued as Fox News are and they could have their algorithm collapse around their ankles.

37. jamieFebruary 19, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    Look over there forever. What or who is Brittaney Higgins? Robo Debt. nbn. census. Uluru Statement. F-35. ndis. Incineration of Australia. Ruby Gladys. Kakadu radioactive wastelands. wholesale species extermination. mandatory pharmacom poison.

    As Julian Assange has stated the difference between him and Mark Zuckerberg is that Zuckerberg sells your private information to big business for billions of dollars and he is celebrated around the world , whilst Assange gives you the private information of big business for free and he ends up in jail .

    As I read elsewhere: “If you control information, you control minds, if you control minds, you control the people. That is what the LNP are trying to do. That and give Murdoch more profits and influence.”
    I don’t think many people are aware of what a dark day this is, in Australian history. I can see how the Germans were won over to the dark side in 1930.

    ”We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
    ― Plato

    “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
    ― Soren Kierkegaard

    “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
    ― Benjamin Franklin

    “The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see.”
    -Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

    “Five percent of the people think;
    ten percent of the people think they think;
    and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.”
    ― Thomas A. Edison

    Have a good day. Poison free cukes smell so so good!!!

38. Kaye LeeFebruary 19, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    I don’t understand this law. We put stuff on facebook unsolicited by them. Why should they pay us to do that? We do it to increase our reach and to make it easier to share and discuss our stories. The links send people here.

    I can’t get past this being just a way to further shutdown other voices whilst giving the big boys more money.

    Will they now hire back all the journalists they sacked? I don’t think so.

39. Michael TaylorFebruary 19, 2021 at 6:13 pm

    I can’t get past this being just a way to further shutdown other voices whilst giving the big boys more money.

    That, Kaye, is it in a nutshell.

    I seem to remember (always a worry with me lately – remembering, that is) Murdoch having a bit of a squeal about this a number of months ago. Then presto, along comes Morrison to the rescue.

    It reminds me of a while ago when Murdoch had a squeal about Rudd’s NBN (which would have hurt his Foxtel), and presto. Again. Along comes Abbott to the rescue.

    The Coalition has a habit of helping Murdoch. And vice-versa. It’s an unhealthy partnership for democracy.

40. paul walterFebruary 19, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    Perhaps it is about furtively creating a more intensive information vacuum in which minds suffocate for the absence of the oxygen of fact and truth on which to base an understanding of what really happens in a real world,regardless of the whims of vested interests, Kaye Lee.

    But this is such a paranoid thought, thinking even the slightest villainy could eventuate through the machinations of our oligarchy run by such benign folk as Morrison and Murdoch and would surely be fanciful at the least.

    Remember, Big Brother loves you and only exists to be of help.

41. Consume LessFebruary 19, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    Never been on Facebook but I agree with the above. Nothing surprising here from a charlatan like Scomo, scamming his way through this to appease the big boys.

42. wamFebruary 19, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    kaye didn’t you muse there is nothing stopping christenson and kelly sharing their theories? Same for us only when we try sharing links to news???
    Is that not still the case???