As Twitter crumbles in real-time, many users are jumping ship to new apps. But which social media app will they be flocking to? Will it be Bluesky or Mastodon or Spoutible? What can compete with the ubiquity of Twitter? Enter Threads, Meta’s new social media app that links directly to your Instagram account and automatically preloads all your IG followers. Threads offers a built-in audience and an easy social media transition versus starting from scratch on another new social media site that may or may not take off. It’s the first real competitor to the ailing Twitter. But more importantly, it’s a big fat F.U. from Mark Zuckerberg to Elon Musk. Let them fight!
Twitter has, of course, responded to the launch of Threads by pleading with users to stay. New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino tweeted, “Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others — on Twitter YOU can be real.”
Of course, that used to be true of Twitter. But since Musk bought the company, he’s gutted the functionality of the once essential social media app. Musk spent $44 billion dollars to slowly tank Twitter, from restoring white supremacist accounts to laying off employees to limiting DMs. And as if that wasn’t enough, Musk has fired the Trust and Safety Council, destroyed the verification system, and is now limiting the number of tweets we can read.
Naturally, Twitter is sweating the arrival of Threads, the first legitimate pretender to the throne. And with over 30 million people signing up for Threads (as of Thursday morning), they’re right to be scared. Many users are mocking Musk and Yaccarino for driving Twitter into the ground.
I mean, you know it’s bad when Zuckerberg himself is dunking on you:
In response, Musk and Twitter are threatening to sue Meta and Threads, claiming that Meta “has engaged in systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.” The lawsuit also claims that Meta hired former Twitter employees to build Threads, which is not surprising considering Twitter fired several employees due to Musk’s mercurial whims. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the threat saying, “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.”
While Zuckerberg seems to be winning the social media war, the real winners here are the dueling law firms that will no doubt be raking in money from these two tech titans.
(via Semafor, featured image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
