Traffic to the world’s leading news sites from Facebook and X social networks has declined sharply over the past year. This is evidenced by Similarweb data, according to Axios.

This trend means that the business models of websites that depended on social media clicks are now disrupted.

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Regular pressure and concerns about freedom of speech have pushed tech giants to abandon efforts to improve the quality of information. This makes the public more vulnerable to disinformation in the run-up to the 2024 US elections.

“Meanwhile, news companies are scrambling to find business solutions while simultaneously fighting to protect their work in the AI era,” they add in Axios.

They also pointed out that the news industry knew this day would come. However, many were still not ready for this development.

The slowdown in the advertising market and less reliable traffic has led to a record number of job cuts in the US media this year. Reaching voters with reliable information is becoming increasingly difficult as technology platforms focus on viral trends rather than quality news.

“The over-reliance on social media traffic kept news publishers from focusing on building stronger consumer products of their own,” Axios emphasized.

However, publishers are now better prepared to protect their intellectual property in the age of artificial intelligence. They have learned from their mistakes when they relied too much on third parties to survive.