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Meta to launch Twitter rival on Thursday

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Meta to launch Twitter rival on Thursday
The Threads app looks similar to Twitter./Courtesy

Screenshots depict a dashboard that resembles Twitter. Threads is referred to as a “text-based conversation app” by Meta. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been at odds for some time.

The two guys agreed to a physical altercation last month, but it’s not apparent how serious they were about actually holding one. In an apparent retaliatory move against Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Musk tweeted in response to a tweet about Threads, “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run.”

Twitter has announced that TweetDeck, a well-known user dashboard, would become pay-to-use after 30 days. The move is Mr. Musk’s most recent attempt to persuade users to subscribe to Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service.

Due to severe “data scraping,” the multi-billionaire on Saturday limited the quantity of tweets that consumers may view. According to Meta’s Threads app, the service will be free and there won’t be any limits on how many postings a user may view.

The App Store description for Threads reads, “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow.”

Screenshots from the app are shown in images, and they resemble Twitter almost exactly.

Threads will collect data on your phone, including location information, purchases, and browsing history, as it is a Meta app.

In recent years, a number of applications with striking similarities to Twitter have emerged, including Donald Trump’s Truth Social and Mastodon.

Another app of a similar nature, Bluesky, stated to have observed “record” traffic following Mr. Musk’s decision to limit usage over the weekend.

However, Twitter may currently be facing its greatest danger from Threads. Mark Zuckerberg has a track record of taking ideas from other businesses and implementing them successfully.

Numerous people believe that Meta’s Reels and Stories are imitations of TikTok and Snapchat, respectively.

With its resources, Meta can rival Twitter. There will be hundreds of millions of accounts connected to Threads because it is a component of the Instagram platform. It doesn’t start from scratch like other potential competitors have.

Despite receiving accolades in some circles for his dedication to free speech, Mr. Musk has also alienated some users.

Mr. Zuckerberg will be hoping to entice enough Twitter users who are dissatisfied to switch to his new service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author

Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast, digital, and print media, who relocated to the United States in 2022 and is now the Senior International Correspondent for Kurunzi News based in Washington, DC, USA. He has previously worked with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), among other high-profile roles with Kenya's first privately-owned media outlet - Kenya Television Network. His experience also include prominent roles as Media Consultant for Football Kenya Federation (FKF), and StarTimes Kenya. His career spans high‑stakes political reporting covering legislative and constitutional issues, elections, governance, and accountability across Kenya, Africa, and global arenas. He also boasts extensive sports journalism experience, covering local and international sports events, including leagues, tournaments and sports governance. He is well-known for his investigative depth, editorial leadership, and evidence-driven journalism that guides his consistent delivery of public‑interest storytelling across platforms.

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