The Washington Post partners with Facebook in an experiment to help users identify breaking news stories

The Washington Post has started adding a breaking news label to stories shared on Facebook providing all users with an easy way to identify important news as it happens. The Post is among a small group of publishers partnering with Facebook to explore breaking news promotion on the platform.

“Breaking news coverage is an incredibly important part of who we are as a news organization and never more so than now when the news cycle changes so rapidly,” said Ryan Kellett, director of audience at The Post. “There are some stories that have great urgency, and this is one way to signal to our readers that there is something they need to know now.”

The ‘breaking’ banner provides a clear way to distinguish breaking news stories from other Post content. The Post continues to work to better serve readers with updated content on any given day.

Kellett added, “Similar to our strategy for speed of alerts, we have a desire to be first and right on important breaking news for the massive and important audience on Facebook.”