Threads, the “sanely run” Twitter competitor launched by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, is nearing 100 million monthly users after several months in operation, according to Zuckerberg.
The Verge reports that Threads, a Twitter clone launched by Facebook (now known as Meta), has garnered almost 100 million monthly users since its inception in early July, according to Zuckerberg. The Facebook CEO expressed his contentment with the app’s performance during a recent announcement. “We’re three months in now, and I’m very happy with the trajectory,” Zuckerberg said, showcasing his optimism about the app’s future.
Threads has largely been pitched as a competitor to Elon Musk’s X/Twitter. It aims to revolutionize digital conversations, aspiring to be a billion-person public conversation application. “I’ve thought for a long time there should be a billion-person public conversations app that is a bit more positive,” Zuckerberg remarked, highlighting the app’s unique value proposition.
Breitbart News has reported extensively on Threads, including the fact that Facebook leadership has promised its employees it will be “sanely run,” a euphemism for heavily censored:
Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, referred to the app as Zuckerberg’s answer to Twitter during the meeting. Cox told staff that the company had heard from creators and public figures who want “a sanely run platform,” and were responding to that need. This comment shows Facebook plans to censor its new platform as it does both its main platform and Instagram, perhaps using the infamous “third-part fact checks” that it later admitted in court are just opinions.
Meta CFO Susan Li commented: “Threads also remains a compelling long-term opportunity, and we’re excited to build on the strong product momentum we have going into next year.”
Despite the optimism of Zuckerberg and his executives, Threads faces a major uphill battle. The platform suffered from an 82 percent drop in engagement in the weeks after launching. More recently, Breitbart News reported that seemingly no one wants to sign up for Zuckerberg’s latest social media site:
Threads, a supposedly “sanely run” Twitter clone, now finds itself ahead of only Tumblr in the race for user acquisition in the U.S., according to recent forecasts by Insider Intelligence. The forecasts predict a U.S. user base of 23.7 million for Threads in 2023, a stark contrast to the 56.1 million anticipated U.S. users of X/Twitter, its direct competitor. This places Threads far behind other social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, which boast user bases of 177.9 million, 135.2 million, and 102.3 million respectively.
The initial surge in Threads’ user base can be attributed to its seamless sign-up process for existing Instagram users and its positioning as a mainstream alternative to X/Twitter. However, the app has witnessed a severe decline in usage, with several mobile analytics firms documenting this diminishing user interest.
Read more at the Verge here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.