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Meta is giving Facebook the TikTok treatment. Younger demographics have long abandoned the social media giant in favor of TikTok. Underwhelming Q1 numbers guided Facebook's decision to implement a new Home tab that is meant to rival TikTok's famous algorithmic discovery engine. This EdgeTheory Narrative intelligence brief analyzes the news coverage of Facebook's big shift, revealing the size of the narrative and who's driving the conversation.
Coverage of Facebook's revamp has been shockingly sparse, with only 75 unique narratives in the past week, though the conversation size is sure to grow as more users adopt the new interface. Tech news outlets like TechCrunch, CNET, and WIRED were quick to latch onto the "discovery engine" narrative. More mainstream outlets like The Washington Examiner and CNN were also among the top amplifiers.
"Feeds tab" was the single top keyword, which emerged from the announcement that Facebook would preserve its classic format under a new Feeds tab. The massive UI overhaul is concentrated within the new Home tab.
The trending keywords "discovery engine" and "rival TikTok" push the narrative that Facebook is trying to keep pace with newer social platforms and reclaim a younger user base. The new Home tab indicates that Meta is promoting content creators over the traditional "friends and family" content usually associated with Facebook.
Left-leaning outlets have attached to this narrative more than their right-leaning counterparts (42 from left-leaning, 13 from right-leaning).
How Facebook's new look will catch on is highly debated. Some believe it is past time for Facebook to "get with the times", while others point out that Facebook's mimicking of TikTok points to the social media giant's decline as both an industry leader and innovator in the tech space.
Check back on this narrative intelligence brief to see how U.S. Media continues to handle Facebook's new update over time.
