Facebook vs. Journalism

For over two decades, tech giants have been relentlessly destroying journalism around the globe by engaging in massive intellectual property theft. Finally, the media in some countries are fighting back. The Australian government is debating legislation that will force tech behemoths like Google and Facebook to share some of the vast wealth they’ve been accumulating for years by stealing news stories and selling advertising on these pages. Google and Facebook suck up a staggering 81 percent of all online advertising revenue in Australia.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Google is moving quickly to evade the Australian government’s wealth-sharing mandate by cutting individual payment deals with media companies like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. that will generate significantly less money for the media companies than the government arbitration system will. Facebook is taking an even harder line against Australia, blacking out all news articles posted by publishers or users.

Ponder this for one moment. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is worth $90 billion. His corporation is valued at over $720 billion. But he won’t kick back one shiny dime for the enormous news content that he hijacks every day. As a result, Zuckerberg and his top investors float on clouds of filthy lucre, while the ink-stained wretches who actually produce the the information that we rely on get downsized, laid off, sped up and generally devalued.

And those lucky media companies that landed deals with Google, because the Silicon Valley colossus got scared by the proposed Australian law and the international precedent that it might set? Will they share their windfalls with their newsrooms instead of just channeling the dividends to their investors? Don’t hold your breath.

I hate to keep beating the same drum, but of course I will. This is why you must declare your independence from Facebook and its stolen news feed — which Zuckerberg & Co. can black out whenever they want to play corporate hardball with publishers. We must unplug our minds from Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter and all of the major tech brands that wield far too much power over our information flow.

Free yourself by donating to your most valued sources of news and commentary. In fact, donate $50 right now to The David Talbot Show. You’ll not only strike a blow for press freedom, you’ll get a free copy of my new book, By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution, to be published in June. After making your donation, be sure to email your name and address to: david@talbotplayers.com.

Thanks for your contribution — and for keeping your mind free.