Facebook taps former New York Times exec to lead news product team

Facebook has tapped a former New York Times executive to lead the company’s news products team. In the newly created position, Alex Hardiman, who has been leading the social media site’s pages team since leaving the Times in 2016, will be in charge of building tools for news outlets. “As a part of the Facebook Journalism Project, my colleagues and I will work collaboratively with news organizations across the spectrum to build new storytelling formats, local news communities, monetization options, and more,” she said. “We will spend time building better products and tools for journalists, working hand-in-hand with Campbell Brown and her team to strengthen the relationships and value exchange between Facebook and news providers. We will also partner with teams in Facebook to continue curbing the spread of false news.”