Luke Gordon Field is trying to figure out how he can explain the concept of deadpan satire to an algorithm.

He says he never thought in a million years that the need to explain a joke would transcend humans. But it害羞草研究所檚 a situation he believes he has found himself in as editor-in-chief of The Beaverton, a Canadian comedy website.

Meta is in the process of removing all news from its Facebook and Instagram platforms in Canada in response to a new law that would force the company to compensate media outlets for content that is shared or otherwise repurposed on their platforms.

But satirical sites are getting caught up in the tech giant害羞草研究所檚 quest, too 害羞草研究所� even though their human audiences know they aren害羞草研究所檛 news.

It害羞草研究所檚 an error that some publications say could threaten their survival.

害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 want to be too dramatic, but in a world where Facebook completely cuts us off, I mean, there害羞草研究所檚 a very real chance we do not survive that,害羞草研究所� Field told The Canadian Press.

He said he started The Beaverton over a decade ago with a group of comedy writers who just wanted to put their funny jokes online for people to see.

They don害羞草研究所檛 have major financial backing or wealthy owners, and they have relied heavily on Facebook to promote their content and grow their audience, he said.

害羞草研究所淚 would equate (Facebook) as a drug dealer where the first taste is free, and they make you keep coming back for more.害羞草研究所�

This week, Field said he discovered that their supply was getting cut off after he received messages from Canadian readers saying they could no longer see The Beaverton害羞草研究所檚 posts.

害羞草研究所淚f traffic really decreases because of Facebook, and then by extension revenue decreases, then there害羞草研究所檚 a scenario where we can害羞草研究所檛 keep the lights on,害羞草研究所� Field said.

Scott Slute, who runs the satirical site The Toronto Harold, had his content blocked by Meta last month on Instagram, which he said similarly affected his business. He saw likes on his Instagram posts dropping to hundreds from thousands.

He said he believes a default tag that labelled him as a news site led to the account being captured by Meta害羞草研究所檚 block. After removing the tag, Slute reached out to the company and appealed its decision.

害羞草研究所淚t was a little devastating to see something I害羞草研究所檇 worked so hard on for three years to just be taken away from me like that,害羞草研究所� Slute said. 害羞草研究所淚t was a helpless feeling.害羞草研究所�

It took less than a week for Meta to resolve the problem after he filled out a questionnaire, with Slute noting the process was 害羞草研究所減retty good.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淭hey got back to me and said they had determined that it was not a news site, so they put it back up,害羞草研究所� Slute said.

Field is hoping Meta will realize its own error when it comes to The Beaverton, which he emphasized would not qualify for funding under the Liberals害羞草研究所� Online News Act.

害羞草研究所淪o much of our stuff is not even remotely news,害羞草研究所� Field said.

害羞草研究所淚t should not be blocked by this this ban.害羞草研究所�

Meta has said it is taking a phased approach to removing news from Canadians害羞草研究所� feeds in order to ensure the process works as expected.

The company is hoping to avoid mistakes it made in Australia when it temporarily blocked news on Facebook in that country. In doing so, it accidentally limited access to non-news content 害羞草研究所� including the pages for some emergency services.

The Beaverton has changed its Facebook settings to make it clear they害羞草研究所檙e an entertainment and comedy company, not a news company, Field said.

害羞草研究所淚 want to believe it害羞草研究所檚 an algorithm that is not functioning properly and it害羞草研究所檚 an error that has or will be sorted, because of course we害羞草研究所檙e a comedy website.害羞草研究所�

In the meantime, he害羞草研究所檚 having fun by writing satirical articles about the issue and responding in jest on other social media platforms.

In a letter posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, The Beaverton threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with what Field calls a 害羞草研究所渃learly fake lawsuit害羞草研究所� for defaming The Beaverton by calling them a news organization.

Canadians can expect to see news removed from their Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, but seeing satire go along with it would be a disaster, said Field.

害羞草研究所淚 think we have a role to play, a very small role, but a role to play nonetheless in the conversation about issues in this country, about what害羞草研究所檚 going on in the world,害羞草研究所� Field said.

害羞草研究所淎nd I think satire can be such an important beacon of truth. It would suck to lose all of that, let alone the fact that it would mean that me and my friends who do this together wouldn害羞草研究所檛 be able to hang out quite as much.害羞草研究所�

READ MORE: