The discursive function of Meta’s Newsroom

How Meta frames the problem of problematic online content

Bibliographic Data

ID7150992
AuthorsEdward Hurcombe (0000-0002-5838-2019, RMIT University, corresponding author), Ehsan Dehghan (0000-0003-3139-5298, Queensland University of Technology), Laura Vodden (0009-0004-6792-8580, Queensland University of Technology), Daniel Angus (0000-0002-1412-5096, Queensland University of Technology)
Year2025
Volume31
Issue5
Pages1649-1671
Publication date2025-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueConvergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1354-8565 • E-ISSN: 1748-7382
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/13548565251315521
OpenAlexW4407065294
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

This article examines the social technology company Meta’s public communication on problematic content, via their official ‘Meta Newsroom’, within the context of growing regulatory scrutiny. For nearly a decade, the Meta Newsroom has been a major outlet for Meta company announcements, and since 2016, the Newsroom has increasingly become a key source for company responses to concerns regarding mis/disinformation and other kinds of problematic content on Meta’s platforms. Using a mixed-methods approach informed by discourse analysis, this article critically examines Newsrooms posts from 2016 to early 2021. It asks: how is Meta framing ‘problems’ on its platforms? How is Meta identifying ‘solutions’ to those problems? And is Meta ‘nudging’ policymakers in specific conceptual directions? Overall, we find that Meta is framing content moderation issues through four key frames – ‘authenticity’, ‘political advertising’, ‘technological solutions’, and ‘enforcement’ – that benefit Meta, as they shift responsibility while also demonstrating that Meta is an active and capable problem-solver

Biology · Information retrieval · Computer Science · Mathematics · Media Studies and Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access