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New York Times, Buzzfeed in talks to publish directly to Facebook

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Facebook has been in talks for months with at least six media organizations about hosting content inside their platform, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times, Buzzfeed and National Geographic have been named as likely early adopters.

Directly publishing content on Facebook would be a boon for users, aiming to decrease the lag time that occurs when one clinks on an external link on the social media platform now.

When it comes to the news companies considering the plan, anxiety is likely as chosen content would move directly into another publishing ecosystem, rather than publishing first on the company's own platform. This could restrict ad revenue and clicks that those companies currently track. 

The Times reports Facebook has been trying to allay those fears, according to several of the people briefed on the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were bound by nondisclosure agreements.

Initial testing of the plan with The New York Times, National Geographic and Buzzfeed is expected to take place over the next two months, though more media companies may be added as talks continue. 

Facebook's F8 developer conference will take place March 25 and 26, and public keynotes will be hosted each of those days. The first day's keynote is expected to cover general Facebook updates, including video advertising advancements, and the second keynote is expected to focus on Oculus Rift.