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Comment by _whiteCaps_ | Hacker News Reader

Difficult to consume Canadian content for many people since Facebook blocks news links from being posted due to the Online News Act.

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Why would Facebook be relevant for consuming anything non-Facebook?

Most people get their news from social media.

To some people Facebook is basically the way of browsing the web, in particular when it comes to news that people don't actively search for.

To be clear, Facebook chooses to block it because they don’t want to compensate Canadians news outlets, not because the act requires blocking, which is common misinformation that has been spread.

I think everyone understands that facebook had to pay a linking tax whenever anyone including government officials posted a link to a news outlet on a list. They decided not to.

It was a crazy foolish law that hurt those news orgs that thought they were the reason Canadians used social media. It reminded everyone their are plenty of ways to get news outside of the mainstream Canadian news cartel. Canadians are not seeking out these news orgs shows what their value really is to the average person

Many many right wingers in Canada do not understand that. They truly believe the government is requiring Facebook to block all Canadian news. I know this because I live in a small town and have talked to these people. It’s also plain to see on any local Facebook group when the topic comes up.

I agree it’s a foolish law, but there’s rampant misinformation being spread about it.

> I think everyone understands

When things are repeated often enough with a certain slant (e.g. "Facebook is ..." rather than "Canadian news companies via the Canadian government are ..."), it affects both people's thinking on an issue and what people less connected to the issue are aware of.

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