News outlets chasing readers on WhatsApp

But traffic from WhatsApp still pales in comparison to that from Google, Facebook

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Many digital news publishers have been desperately searching for a life raft. Traffic to news sites has fallen sharply, along with the advertising revenue those clicks generate, partly because Google and Facebook decided to make news less prominent on their platforms.

Now, some publications have found a glimmer of hope elsewhere: WhatsApp, the world's most popular messaging app.

In late 2023, the app introduced WhatsApp Channels, a kind of one-way broadcasting system that allows publishers to send links and headlines directly to followers. Numerous news outlets are using it as a way to draw in readers and build direct ties with an audience that is largely outside the US.

“It has become a huge source of traffic actually, larger than X,” said Ms Marta Planells, senior director of digital news at Noticias Telemundo, the news arm of Telemundo.

The Noticias Telemundo channel on WhatsApp gained more than 30,000 followers in just the first two weeks and now has more than 820,000 followers, she said. The news outlet often creates original content for its channel, such as short videos from reporters on the ground or a poll on a news topic.

“WhatsApp is a big community for Hispanics – it is the platform to go to to talk to family members and friends, outside the US especially,” she added.

Meta, which owns the app, says about 1.9 billion of its two billion users live outside the US.

WhatsApp Channels exists in a separate tab from the main messaging section of the app. People, businesses or organizations can create a channel to send videos, text or links to anyone who follows them.

Users do not have to provide private details like their phone numbers or e-mail addresses to follow a channel. Followers can react to posts with an emoji, but they are unable to comment with text.