The world is a scarier place because of misinformation and the threat posed by misinformation has as adverse consequences as destructive weapons. Recently, an AI-generated image of former US President Donald Trump being arrested was circulated on Twitter and that created a frenzy. With such a rise of fake news on its platform, alarmed Twitter to come up with innovative ways to mark and highlight fake news, it is still riddled with misinformation and hate speech, which the site claims are just a fraction of the community.
However, Meta is willing to compromise moderation for the time being, as it opened the platform for everyone. Within two weeks of the launch of Threads, it has amassed more than 100 million sign-ups. Now, the platform has users like Nick Fuentas, a far-right American white supremacist political commentator who was banned on Instagram, with his followers.
Fuentas claimed to have made a fake Instagram account to access the new microblogging site. Additionally, he directed his followers to get in early on the platform to be able to amass a fan following.
“I signed up for it last night. I made a fake Instagram. I got on a fake Thread,” he said, according to Media Matters. Fuentes told his followers they should “try and build a big account. I mean, if you get in early, maybe some of you guys can blow up and red pill some people there.”
Free Speech for a Time Being
Moserri’s pitch for the platform was to be ‘a town square of a billion people’ ‘that are interested in a less angry place for conversations’—and that is where it should be headed. For this purpose, the platform was willing to eliminate or not support news content on the platform.
However, something else is brewing within the platform. In a move to attract users and encourage endless conversations, Meta’s Threads has shown its lack of commitment to managing misinformation on the platform. This lackadaisical approach of Threads has caused the influx of Nazi supporters, anti-gay extremists, and white supremacists on the platform.
The platform has also removed all the guardrails which are in place for Facebook and Instagram, where third-party fact-checkers identify, review, and label false information. Meta’s spokesperson admitted saying, “the company will not extend its existing fact-checking program to Threads”. However, the spokesperson mentioned that if a crosspost on Facebook or Instagram receives a false rating from fact-checkers, that label would also apply to Threads.
The amiable censorship from the platform seems to be in line with the opinion of the US House Judiciary Committee which recently subpoenaed Meta over concerns about censorship on its new Threads app. In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, wrote, “Given that Meta has censored First Amendment-protected speech as a result of government agencies’ requests and demands in the past. The committee backed by Republicans expressed its concerns against potential violations of first amendment violations that may occur on the new platform.
However, with Threads, Meta seems to have a different strategy, and seems to be in line with Jordan’s view of absolute free speech despite connotations of hate or bias.
It also seems like Threads wants to stay clear of any political controversy and the never-ending debate around content moderation. In a move to position itself as a true rival to Twitter and Musk, it looks like Meta is willing to let anything go on its platform.
Threads Hanging by a Thread
However, while Meta “couldn’t be more psyched” about how the launch week has gone, with Threads hitting 100 million sign-ups, just five days after its launch—Instagram Mosseri has expressed his doubts about retention. In a thread he said, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but we don’t even know if this thing is retentive yet.”
Being at the helm of one of the largest social media platforms, Mosseri understands the workings and knows what he is talking about. After initial days of pomp and record-setting signups, the number of active users dropped from 49 million to 23.6 million within a week. Although Threads attracted attention as a Twitter alternative, it’s very apparent that it has yet to gain a loyal user base.
It seems like just letting the guardrails down isn’t gonna work in Threads’ favour, and it will have to do a lot more than this to stand the test of time and be a true alternative to Twitter.
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