Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has launched a new platform called Threads, which aims to compete with Twitter in hosting digital town squares. However, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has made it clear that the social network will not prioritize topics related to politics and hard news.
In recent years, Meta has shifted its approach and moved away from promoting politics and hard news on its social networks, unlike Twitter, which has embraced political discussions and encourages them.
Mosseri explained, “The goal isn’t to replace Twitter. The goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter.”
While Mosseri acknowledges that politics and hard news will inevitably appear on the platform, he stated, “we’re not going to do anything to encourage those verticals.”
When a user pointed out that downranking such content would be counterproductive if Threads aims to be a “public square,” Mosseri responded, “We won’t discourage or down-rank news or politics, we just won’t court them the way we have in the past.”
Mosseri emphasized that Meta does not want to repeat the mistakes made by Facebook in the past, where they were “too quick to promise too much” to the media industry.
While acknowledging the importance of politics and hard news, Mosseri stated, “from a platform’s perspective, any incremental engagement or revenue they might drive is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest), or integrity risks that come along with them.”
He added, “There are more than enough amazing communities – sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc. – to make a vibrant platform without needing to get into politics or hard news.”
Meta claims that Threads has already surpassed 70 million users. Signing up is easy, as it only requires an Instagram account, and users are automatically registered on the new platform.
With Threads, Meta aims to provide a space for communities to engage in conversations without the intense political discourse often found on other platforms. By focusing on other interests and topics, Meta hopes to create a more positive and inclusive environment for users.
