> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://adjacent.media/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Publishers discover TikTok feeds don't solve Facebook's monetization trap
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/publishers-discover-tiktok-feeds-dont-solve-facebooks-monetization-trap/
- Published: 2026-10-09T10:14:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-09T10:14:51.000Z
- Description: Media companies adopting algorithmic, infinite-scroll feeds modeled on TikTok are discovering that algorithmic distribution replicates Facebook’s core problem: publishers must still pay to reach audiences they built, only through a different mechanism.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-consumer, creator economy mechanics, platform dynamics, attention economy

Source: [Simon Owens's Media Newsletter](https://open.substack.com/pub/simonowens/p/are-tiktok-style-feeds-actually-working)

Media companies adopting algorithmic, infinite-scroll feeds modeled on TikTok are discovering that algorithmic distribution replicates Facebook's core problem: publishers must still pay to reach audiences they built, only through a different mechanism. The shift exposes a structural fact about platform economics—whether the feed is chronological or algorithmic, platforms own the relationship with users, leaving publishers as content suppliers rather than audience owners. Publishers chase platform-specific formats not because they work better for readers, but because they have no alternative distribution channel, regardless of how it's packaged.