Meta Threads will not encourage the use of the platform for political discussions or breaking news, said Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. In a comment published this Thursday (7), the executive stated that the purpose of the new app “is not to replace Twitter”, but to create a public space for communities never before explored by Instagram.
“The goal is not to replace Twitter. The goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that have never embarked on Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) interested in a less angry place for conversations,” explained Mosseri. “Politics and hot news will inevitably appear on Threads — they even appear on Instagram to some extent — but we won’t do anything to encourage those verticals,” she added.
With Threads, it seems Adam Mosseri wants to create a platform “less hateful” than Twitter. Apparently, one of the strategies to achieve this goal is to distance yourself from more sensitive topics.
This attitude, which is more averse to political content, is in line with Meta’s behavior pattern, which has distanced itself from the topic for years on Facebook. The platform even changed the name of the traditional feed from “News” to just “Feed”, in an attempt to change the section’s proposal.
Politics will not be encouraged, but not prohibited
While Threads will not encourage the publication of news and political content, Adam Mosseri recognizes the importance of the subject. “Politics and hot news are important, I don’t want to suggest otherwise,” he pointed out in another response.
“But my opinion is that from a platform perspective, any extra engagement or profit that the subject may generate is not worth the headache, negativity (let’s be honest) or integrity risks that may come with the package.” “There are more than enough amazing communities — sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc. — to create a vibrant platform without having to get into politics or news.”
It is inevitable that news circulates on Threads, after all, the platform also has profiles of news outlets and journalists. However, despite the stance of not promoting this type of content, it is not known whether there will be mechanisms in the recommendation algorithm to prevent the dissemination of this material.
Threads is a success
It is already possible to say that the launch of Threads was a success: the platform reached 70 million users in just over a day and everything indicates that it will continue to grow in this first moment. Now, it remains to be seen whether the platform can retain users and continue this process
