To get more journalists using Facebook and Instagram for news discovery and curation, Facebook recently launched a new tool called Signal.
Announced yesterday, Signal is a free tool for journalists for sourcing videos, images, text and data from Facebook and Instagram. The tool lets users search for multiple Instragram hashtags and users simultaneously, as well as monitor trending topics and emerging trends.
In terms of data search capabilities, Signal allows search of public posts using location tags and hashtags. Search results, as well as specific posts and metrics, can be stored for future use.
From the announcement:
“Journalists can easily embed any Facebook and Instagram post in their coverage by simply selecting and copying the post’s embed code. Newsrooms can integrate Signal APIs to feed curated content onto their websites and into their broadcasts, as well as produce native visualizations of curated Instagram content for events.”
Signal also feeds in content from Storyful’s FB Newswire and Crowdtangle. For now the tool is focused on trends in the United States and is available in English only.
Journalists can sign up here.
Tiffany L. Rider 