The widespread availability of social networks has empowered media organizations to disseminate information and shape public opinion. However, this proliferation of content has raised concerns about the authors’ objectivity, ethics, and professionalism, potentially impacting the audience’s perception of reality. Particularly in socially significant news, the influence of news headlines and articles on platforms like Facebook cannot be underestimated, as they play a crucial role in framing societal narratives and influencing public discourse on important issues. In this study, we propose using a supervised machine learning model to analyze the sentiment conveyed in news headlines and articles published by the leading Ecuadorian newspapers on Facebook to assess its impact on the local audience. Our findings reveal an encouraging trend in digital journalism in the studied country, where neutrality principles are consistently upheld over sensationalism. This balanced approach preserves facts and truths and allows audience opinions to form independently.