Facebook is burying The Intercept. That’s bad news for journalism.

Meta has decided it’s bad for business when users leave to read a long article instead of scrolling through Facebook. And when the competition is lighthearted video apps, why bother with the political messiness of serious journalism?




Social media platforms like Facebook are escalating their efforts to get real news — politically troublesome tales of greed and corruption — out of your feed. They’ve decided it’s bad for business when users leave their walled garden to read a long article instead of continuously scrolling through Facebook.

This has been a long time coming, but we’ve passed the point of no return. Visits to The Intercept’s website from Facebook dropped by more than half in the past year. Visits from our own Facebook page dropped by an astonishing 83 percent.

When Facebook and its ilk bury our content, that doesn’t just mean fewer clicks or pageviews. Because we’re a nonprofit, fewer new readers also means fewer of the donations that ensure we’ll still be here tomorrow publishing journalism that takes on the powerful.

To help fill that gap, we still need to raise another $175,000 in reader donations by this Saturday, September 30 to expand our coverage and face down an array of other challenges, from rising costs and billionaire lawsuits to simple news burnout.

I hope you’ll join me in making a donation of whatever you can to help meet this goal today. Your support will make sure we can stay in the fight — and that we don’t depend on Mark Zuckerberg to do it.

If you stay in journalism long enough, you learn that today’s new normal is tomorrow’s old news. In just a few years, the blog era I came up in was supplanted by a social media ecosystem of likes, shares, and infinite scrolling. Now that’s changing too.

Facebook’s parent company Meta seems ready to be done with serious news, which once made them relevant but never made them much money. It did cause our Silicon Valley overlords exactly the kind of messy political problems they think they’re too good for: liberals accusing them of throwing the 2016 election to Trump, conservatives complaining about censorship.

And now that the competition is lighthearted video apps that never link out to another site — which leaves money on the table — Meta is racing to keep up.

The news industry will learn to live without Facebook, and maybe we’ll be better off for it. But the transition will be difficult. While we’d love to be done with Zuckerberg as much as many of our readers would, Facebook remains a primary news source for millions of Americans. It’s our job to meet those people where they are and earn their support.

We can thrive in this new world, but we’re counting on our readers to help us get through this period of uncertainty. Will you make a donation and help us meet our goal today?

STAND WITH THE INTERCEPT →

Thank you,

Ryan Grim
D.C. Bureau Chief

The Intercept’s fiscal sponsor is First Look Institute, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255).

The Intercept’s mailing address is:
P.O. Box 27442
Washington, DC 20038

The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism.

Older messages

FBI Warned Sikhs in the U.S. About Death Threats After Killing of Canadian Activist

Sunday, September 24, 2023

The FBI visits took on a new urgency after Canada alleged Indian government involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. Most Read UAW Files Labor Complaint Against Sen. Tim

If we don’t pay for it, journalism will die

Saturday, September 23, 2023

This is an incredibly difficult time for digital news media, and The Intercept is not immune. We have a plan to expand our coverage and remain financially sustainable well into the future, but

Update: Erik Prince’s lawsuit against The Intercept

Friday, September 22, 2023

Prince's defamation suit against The Intercept has now been tossed out three times, but he's filed notice of an appeal. This is the weaponization of libel law: billionaires using their deep

The Secrets DNA Keeps

Thursday, September 21, 2023

DNA evidence sent Anthony Sanchez to death row. But did it actually solve the crime? Most Read DNA Evidence Sent Anthony Sanchez to Death Row. But Did It Actually Solve the Crime? Liliana Segura A

We’re facing some major headwinds. Will you chip in $5?

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Costs are up, and donations to nonprofits are down across the board. Social media giants like Facebook are deprioritizing news in their feeds. And a growing number of Americans are avoiding the news

You Might Also Like

AI chatbots keep failing every accuracy test thrown at them

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

PLUS: Why Substack's new subscriber milestone is so significant ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Everything We’ve Written About That’s on Sale at Nordstrom

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Plus: Actually cute plus-size maternity clothes. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.

What A Day: Bad Car-ma

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Elon Musk's politics are sparking a major Tesla backlash, ironically thanks to Trump. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Rohingya refugees just lost half of their food aid. Now what?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

An interview with Free Rohingya Coalition what happened last week in Asia, Africa and the Americas Hey, this is Sham Jaff, a freelance journalist focused on Asia, Africa and the Americas and your very

Shayne Coplan’s Big Bet Is Paying Off

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

March 11, 2025 THE MONEY GAME Shayne Coplan's Big Bet Is Paying Off By Jen Wieczner Photo: Dina Litovsky At 6 am on Wednesday, November 13, eight FBI agents in black windbreakers burst through the

We need your input.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Share your insights & receive a 70% off forever. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

We Talkin’ About Practice?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Seattle startup takes eco-friendly aim at recycling clothing 

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Read AI rolls out enterprise search tool | Hard time for hardware ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: A limited number of table sponsorships are available at the 2025 GeekWire Awards: Secure your

☕ The beauty of it all

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

A conversation with Ulta Beauty's CMO. March 11, 2025 View Online | Sign Up Marketing Brew Presented By Iterable It's Tuesday. Count Kathy Hochul as an ad buyer. The governor of New York is

🤔 What’s in your wallet? A scam.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Plus, a new streaming deal is the latest gift to Trump from the billionaire CEO and his company — which profits off government contracts. Forward this email to others so they can sign up 🔥 Today on