I am doing a research project right now. I have interviewed about 25 journalists mostly working in rural areas, like Côte-Nord or Gaspésie. These are local media. I have none in New Brunswick. What I see is that regional media are barely hanging on and have very few resources. When I interview them, they tell me that once there were 20 of them. Now there are 10, but with the same amount of work, and social media content on top. Basically, there is too much work and too few employees to do it. One person is now doing the work of five, but with no better pay and fewer resources.
Facebook blocking news content in those regions is huge. In some regions, like Gaspésie and Côte-Nord, Facebook was like the town square. Everyone shared information there. When Facebook blocked the news, it was a major shock to information in some rural communities, that's for sure.
I have done research on Facebook. From an economic perspective, Facebook has replaced journalism with fake information since 2024. If you look at Facebook's accounting, you see that 10% of its revenues now comes from online scams, from fake information and advertising, from online casinos and from things that are illegal. It seems to me that this would be one major aspect of the regulations that could be imposed. What company can have a business model based on online scams? It's illegal, as least as I see it. Facebook has replaced information with fraud. It has a major impact, especially on rural communities, that's for sure.