TikTok‘s Arrival in Google Discover Sparks Fears for News Visibility
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Google has begun integrating short-form videos directly from TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube Shorts into its Google Discover feed, a move industry observers warn could substantially diminish the visibility of customary news publishers. The rollout, currently in testing, raises concerns about traffic to news websites and the future of news consumption in a landscape increasingly dominated by social video.
The integration poses two critical questions for news organizations,according to ReddePeriodistas: how will the visibility and traffic to news articles – typically presented as text-based URLs - fare against the viral pull of short-form video content,and how will news content be displayed when accessed through social networks versus directly within Discover. Initial tests show users who already utilize these apps will view the content within those platforms, while those without accounts will consume the videos directly in Discover. This shift could bypass traditional metrics like clicks and impressions for news publishers.
“What will be the impact of visibility of yoru news – Pure text urls - and traffic when all the TikTok virals - Instagram, X or YouTube – push the news to ostracism?” ReddePeriodistas asks, highlighting the core anxiety among media professionals.
The potential for users to consolidate their content consumption within Discover’s infinite scroll is also a major concern. With 22 million tiktok users in Spain alone, the appeal of a single feed aggregating content from multiple platforms is substantial. This raises a third, unsettling question: will users even leave Discover to seek out news from dedicated sources?
The move reflects a broader trend of platforms prioritizing user retention and control over content distribution, perhaps reshaping how people access and engage with news. the long-term implications for the press remain uncertain, but the initial response suggests a significant challenge ahead.
