Overview
When you woke up this morning, Thursday, February 18, your Facebook news feed probably looked a little different. Instead of news about the pandemic, restaurant openings, events and all the usual things you're used to seeing as you scroll, it was filled with memes, photos from distant family members and groups you don't even remember joining.
So, what on earth is going on? Well, there's been a bit of standoff between the Australian Government and Facebook and Google, because of the Federal Government's controversial media-bargaining code, which passed through the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
In response, Facebook has banned Australian users and publishers from viewing or sharing any "news articles" on its platform. And it hasn't just banned news.
Everyone from embattled Sydney art institution Carriageworks to state government-run Queensland Health, which posts daily COVID-19 updates and streams press conferences, and Melbourne Food and Wine Festival have been kicked off the social media platform. And we have, too.
That means, to keep up to date with all the exciting things going on in your city, you need to track us down in other spots. Like, right here on our website, over on our Instagram pages (@concreteplayground, @concreteplaygroundmelbourne and @concreteplaygroundbrisbane), or on Twitter (@concreteplay) and by signing up to one of our newsletters.
If you're in Sydney, you can sign up here:
Melburnians, get your fix here:
And Brisbanites, discover all the best things to do right here.
You can also bookmark some of your favourite content of ours. Like the best waterfalls to swim under around Sydney, the best things to do on the weekend in Brisbane and Melbourne's best boozy bottomless brunches.
Just because Facebook is boring RN, doesn't mean you have to be.
Top image: Kitti Gould