Mark Zuckerberg enjoys rare good press after launching rival app to Elon Musk's Twitter

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg finds himself basking in positive press as his company takes on Twitter, helmed by Elon Musk. The launch of Meta's new microblogging app, Threads, has garnered widespread praise from members of the American press, who have gradually grown more critical of Twitter, especially since Musk's acquisition. 

The launch of Threads has been met with enthusiasm by a significant portion of the internet community as well, serving as a welcome alternative to Twitter amid months of chaotic product updates and rule changes. "People have been looking for an alternative that captures the essence of Twitter but without the negative environment that currently exists," remarked Dan Ackerman, Editor in Chief of Gizmodo, during an interview with ABC News. New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac echoed this sentiment on PBS NewsHour, stating that users essentially wanted a Twitter alternative that wasn't under Elon Musk's ownership. 

A quick look at the context

In recent months, Twitter has received a lot of criticism from the American press. Reports talked about increasing "chaos" and "spam". They claimed that the reason behind this was Musk's decision to rollback content moderation rules. The unsaid part in all of this is the fact that Musk has turned more pro-GOP in recent months, which members of the American press didn't like.

Zuckerberg is their alternative. "We are definitely focusing on kindness and making this a friendly place," Zuckerberg said in a post about Threads on Wednesday, signalling that what users can express on the app will certainly be more limited than what they can express on Twitter. However, it remains to be seen how long the current wave of excitement around Threads will last. Instead of drawing scrutiny from the political left, Zuckerberg might end up drawing scrutiny from the political right. The apps runs the risk of becoming another casualty of the American culture war. 

Elon Musk, in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, started laughing when Carlson suggested he considers Zuckerberg a politcally neutral actor. "My understanding is that Zuckerberg spent $400 million in the last election nominally in a get out the vote campaign but really fundamentally in support of Democrats," Musk said. 

Conservatives have already raised concerns about the app's warning system for following accounts that have shared false information. Critics have also pointed out that disgruntled Twitter users may simply be transferring their data and information from one tech giant to another.

Challenges that Threads faces

Threads has several limitations. It is not available in Europe, lacks a desktop or web version, and does not support hashtags or offer a way to read a feed exclusively from accounts followed by the user.

Meanwhile, Twitter has responded to the launch of Threads by threatening legal action against Meta. Twitter's lawyer sent a letter to Meta, accusing the company of misappropriation of trade secrets due to the hiring of former Twitter employees. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to these allegations in a thread, stating, "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing."

As the competition between Meta and Twitter intensifies, the future of the social media landscape remains uncertain. Users and industry observers will closely monitor how Threads evolves and whether it can truly challenge Twitter's dominance in the microblogging realm.