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Comment by bobbygoodlatte | Hacker News Reader

There's something ironic about Buzzfeed advocating for content distribution reforms on Facebook. Buzzfeed owes its entire existence to gaming Facebook's engagement algorithm via clickbait.

What if the fix Buzzfeed is asking for involves less distribution for outlets like Buzzfeed? I'd support that.

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The irony isn’t lost on me, but it does not mean the article is wrong in some way because it is published by Buzzfeed News.

If anything, I would be inclined to trust Buzzfeed’s expertise in garnering views, clicks and ad revenue from Facebook when it comes to them criticizing the system they thrive in.

Additionally, if those changes drive less traffic to Buzzfeed, it will likely hurt publishers across the board and they will all have to change to survive. Perhaps that could be in the general best interest.

I agree it's not wrong. While this article is light on specific proposals, I would likely agree with the author on many reforms.

But if those reforms actually happen, I bet the executive team at Buzzfeed won't be happy

Buzzfeed has already made moves to be less dependent on Facebook traffic, by having its own app, and video content not only YouTube but Netflix too.

Less distribution for outlets like Buzzfeed already happened. Facebook has cut reach to pages so badly of late that even boosting posts hardly gets any of the virality of yesteryear. Nowadays if your post doesn't get people clicking the share button found on the Facebook post, it's not gonna get very far.

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