Taboola News Combats Untrustworthy Sources on Social Networks

Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, helping people discover things they may like, today (August 31st, 2022) announced rapid growth and new innovation for its Taboola News offering, which is expected to cross USD$50m (£43.019m) in revenue for Taboola in 2022.

Taboola News integrates content recommendations from Taboola’s large publisher network with leading mobile device manufacturers across multiple touchpoints, including Minus One screens, news notifications, and browser applications. The newest offering from Taboola News brings editorial recommendations, curated beautifully via wallpaper experiences, on mobile device lock screens. The product is now live in over 80 markets around the world.

Studies show consumers spending more time learning and reading via mobile devices, and a large portion of time spent on mobile today is on social media. Mobile social apps have become a place where many consumers turn to learn about important topics across politics, health, and local news, despite substantial risks of misleading and false information:

• In a March 2022 analysis, Newsguard found that within 40 minutes of signing up for a TikTok account, users were presented with false and misleading content about the war in Ukraine.
• In a 2021 analysis, Newsguard found that within 35 minutes of opening an account, 8 out of 9 children who were under the age of 18 were exposed to misinformation about Covid-19.
• More than 60 percent of videos with harmful misinformation were viewed by users on TikTok before being removed, in the first quarter of 2022, according to TikTok.

Taboola News continues to provide people with trustworthy news sources to access. It gives consumers direct access to a curated list of the world’s top publishers where they can learn more about local news, sports, entertainment, politics, health, and more. Exclusively for Taboola partners, users are sent to those publisher sites to read the articles of most interest to them and the offering is pacing to send over half a billion visits to the open web in 2022. 

The latest introduction brings Taboola News to mobile device wallpapers, giving device manufacturers the ability to provide recommendations directly on their lock screens. This gives mobile users access to premium content from their favourite publishers matched with engaging, high-resolution images, refreshed on their device’s lock screen throughout their day. For device manufacturers, this touchpoint provides a channel to engage and add value for users in the dozens of times a day they wake their mobile device.

“The vast majority of consumers get news via mobile and Taboola News is now core to that experience,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and founder, Taboola. “I’m concerned about a future where our kids will discover science, health care and politics on TikTok, and I think our mission is critical to ensure that high quality editorial content thrives and provides the compass our future generations need. I’m so excited to be on his important journey with our OEM and publisher partners and friends, making the open web strong and available for billions of people. This is our mission, and Taboola News is a fundamental part of it as publishers are looking to get new and loyal audiences.”