How do I stop "Show news and interests on the taskbar" from turning on?

It makes me sad to hear that there is a team hard at work on something that is only on the way. I've tried to find it useful, but maybe only 1% of the headlines are relevant to me, even after configuring what my interests are. As the tech guy for coworkers and family I can assure you that the only people who have the widget on the taskbar are those who don't know how to remove it. I know the same feed shows up on the New Tab for Edge and on the Android Launcher, which I use. I would remove it from those places too if they were on my way as it is on the taskbar. It takes space on the open apps real state.
It even worries me that corporate may think that it is popular because people don't remove it, when the reality is that they don't know how to, and are too busy to care.

Here's a suggestion to make News and Interests relevant and desirable: Make it a social network client, and let the user choose what social network it feeds from. If I could link it to Facebook, X, Instagram and/or even TikTok, I would not only use it and spend time on it, but I may even enable it on the taskbar.

Bottomline, the algorithm that chooses content is not working. Use one that does.

The Registry Key in your post does not exist on any of my 5 systems that have this same problem. However I believe the problem is Microsoft EDGE itself. You cannot disable, remove, uninstall, nor can you terminate the process. Every time windows detects non-microsoft settings an update for Edge is downloaded that overwrites all settings back to default. Default browser, email client, network settings, removes ad blockers, or security software, VPN settings, re-enables MS Defender as default security software. However, these default settings disconnect the client from my network preventing all these ad servers and tracking apps from calling home. This process is initiated at bootup and repeated every 15 minutes rendering my MS devices basically useless and unusable. Thiese actions are deliberately targeted for individual consumers rather than enterprise controlled devices.
A four-year university in my area has implemented a decoy DHCP server setup to defeat these insecure MS defaults. Once the defaults are rewritten to a client machine the decoy server provides connection information that is bogus which prevents connectivity until the user removes the defaults, and re-enables the required network security applications. The number of Windows based clients, not owned & controlled by the school, that connect to their network have dropped by approximately 85%. In the local area the sales of non-microsoft devices has sky rocketed.

edit: taskkilling exploerer.exe and restarting it, would instantly re-enable this setting. Changing the registry key ( HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Feeds\ShellFeedsTaskbarViewMode ) to 2, seems to have solved this.

Hello it has been TWO MONTHS and this hasn't been fixed please take some action because the same is happening to me

this does not work. what is wrong with your program that your own directions don't work? who the f*** is in charge and why don't they care that their product is so bad?

Same problem. Spent countless hours trying to resolve it, never was able to find a solution. No matter how many times I turn off the "News and Interests" feature on the taskbar, Microsoft always turns it right back on.

As stated earlier in this thread, this is a knowing, intentional, unwanted and unauthorized contact to outside services, that Microsoft appears to be using to force windows users to be exposed to news articles and issues politically slanted the way Microsoft feels is correct, with ZERO regard to the wants, desires, or security concerns of Microsoft's users.

This is Microsoft as "Big Brother", forcing your computer to display what Microsoft wants, instead of letting the computer owner use their own computer the way THEY want.