Facebook announces original news shows, harps on 'trusted content'

Facebook today announced its first original news shows for the social network, joining other online platforms producing video to compete with television.

The news shows will be produced for Facebook by a variety of partners including CNN, Fox News, ABC News and Univision. The programs are producing the social network's on-demand video service called Facebook Watch, which is part of an effort to compete with platforms such as Google-owned YouTube, and potentially develop a wider following. 

Facebook said the launch of news shows was also aimed at offering its members "trusted" content following concerns that the platform was used to spread misinformation. "Earlier this year we made a commitment to show news that is trustworthy, informative, and local on Facebook," said a statement from Facebook news partnerships chief Campbell Brown.

"As a part of that commitment, we are creating a dedicated section within Watch for news shows produced exclusively for Facebook by news publishers. With this effort, we are testing a destination for high quality and timely news content on the platform."