If you regularly find The Morehead Minute through Facebook, there is an important change taking place on the social media platform that we want our readers to know about.
Facebook has begun limiting the number of posts containing external website links that some Pages and professional accounts can publish without paying for a subscription.
For affected accounts, that limit can be just two link posts per month.
Yes. Two.
The change does not currently apply to every Facebook Page, and Facebook's parent company, Meta, has previously said publisher Pages are exempt from the test. But the program has expanded, making it another reminder that Facebook—not the businesses, news organizations and organizations that use it—ultimately controls what people see on the platform. Social Media Today
What exactly is Facebook doing?
This actually began in December 2025.
Meta confirmed at the time that it was testing a restriction under which some Facebook Pages and professional-mode accounts could publish only a limited number of posts containing external links unless they had a paid Meta subscription.
Meta described the experiment as a way of determining whether the ability to publish more posts containing links provided additional value to paying subscribers. TechCrunch
Then came a major development this month.
On September 15, Meta announced Meta One, a new collection of paid subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI.
For businesses and creators, Meta's plans currently start at $14.99 per month. The Advanced plan starts at $49.99 per month and specifically includes advanced publishing features, including links in organic posts and Reels. Higher business tiers start at $149 and $499 per month. Meta says prices, benefits and availability can vary depending upon the account, application and region. About Facebook
Two days after Meta One's launch, Social Media Today reported that more Facebook Page managers were encountering the two-link restriction, suggesting that Meta had expanded the original test to additional Pages. Social Media Today
That does not mean everyone has suddenly been limited to two links. It means some Pages are being restricted while others aren't.
And that's important.
Why does this matter to The Morehead Minute?
When we publish breaking news or a new article, many readers discover it because we share the story on Facebook.
You see the headline, click the link and arrive at TheMoreheadMinute.com.
If Facebook eventually applies restrictions like these more broadly—including to news publishers—that method of reaching our readers could become considerably more difficult.
That's why we're not going to wait until that happens to start preparing.
There's a very simple solution: subscribe to The Morehead Minute
The best way to make sure Facebook never decides which Morehead Minute stories you see is to subscribe directly to The Morehead Minute.
And importantly:
You do NOT have to purchase a paid subscription.
The Morehead Minute offers both FREE and PAID subscriptions.
When you're subscribed, our email newsletters and updates can reach you directly instead of depending entirely upon Facebook to put our posts in your news feed.
A free subscription keeps you connected to The Morehead Minute and our email updates.
A paid subscription gives you access to our subscriber-only reporting while also directly supporting the work that makes The Morehead Minute possible.
Either way, you're establishing a connection with us that doesn't depend entirely upon Facebook's algorithm.
Facebook followers are important. Subscribers are even more important.
Social media has been enormously valuable to independent publishers like The Morehead Minute. We have no intention of abandoning Facebook.
But there's an important distinction.
When you follow us on Facebook, Facebook controls that connection.
Facebook determines whether our post appears in your feed. Facebook determines how much reach a post receives. Facebook can change its algorithm. And, as we're now seeing, Facebook can change the rules governing how Pages link readers to outside websites.
When you subscribe directly to The Morehead Minute, Facebook is no longer the only bridge between us.
We're getting ahead of this
At this point, Facebook has not announced a universal two-link-per-month rule for every Page, and Meta previously said publisher Pages were excluded from its test. We don't want to exaggerate what is happening or unnecessarily alarm readers. Social Media Today
But the direction Facebook is experimenting with is worth paying attention to.
So we're asking our Facebook followers to do something now rather than waiting until there's a problem:
Subscribe to The Morehead Minute.
Free or paid—it is entirely your choice.
That way, whether Facebook allows us 200 links a month, two links a month, or changes the rules again next year, you'll still have a direct connection to your local news.
Don't let an algorithm decide whether you hear from us.