Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent: An Israeli drone attacked the main road in the town of Harouf, South Lebanon.
Lebanese President: Israeli aggression on Blida took place in aftermath of meeting of ceasefire monitoring committee.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asks Commander of Lebanese Army to confront any Israeli incursion into liberated Lebanese territory in the South.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli aircraft launch series of strikes on area of Jarmaq, South Lebanon.
Reuters: Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to restart peace talks in Istanbul.
Al-Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Blida municipality building two hours after occupying it, and the Lebanese army enters
Pakistani army: 6 soldiers and 7 militants killed in clash near the Afghan border
Israeli media: Sirens sound in the settlement of Kerem Shalom in the Gaza envelope area
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: We still believe in dialogue and prioritize diplomatic solutions with Pakistan; though we are ready for all possibilities.
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: Pakistan purposely obstructed negotiations in Turkey by making unrealistic demands.

Meta's Twitter rival Threads officially launched

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen
  • 6 Jul 2023 08:51
4 Min Read

The platform is also limiting verified accounts to reading 10,000 tweets a day.

  • x
  • A screenshot of Threads on the App store (AFP)
    A screenshot of Threads on the App Store (AFP)

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp's mother company, Meta, launched Threads, a micro-blogging application designed to rival Twitter, on July 6.

The platform is limiting verified accounts to reading 10,000 tweets a day. Non-verified users -- the free accounts that make up the majority of users -- are limited to reading 1,000 tweets per day. New unverified accounts would be limited to 500 tweets.

The app went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries at 2300 GMT. 

Accounts were already active for celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Hugh Jackman, in addition to media outlets, most notably The Washington Post, Reuters, and The Economist. 

"Let's do this. Welcome to Threads," wrote Meta chief executive and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in his first post on the new platform, which will run with no ads in the meantime.

Zuckerberg fired a shot across the bow at Musk; the two are well-known to be fierce rivals and have even proposed meeting in a cage to wrestle it out.

"It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully, we will," Zuckerberg said. Shortly thereafter, he wrote: "Just passed 5 million sign-ups in the first four hours.

Zuckerberg also took the chance to tweet for the first time in 11 years from his Twitter account.

Related News

Papua New Guinea mulls social media age checks; stirs censorship fears

Facebook far-right groups pushing radicalization in UK: The Guardian

pic.twitter.com/MbMxUWiQgp

— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023

A clear spin-off of Instagram

Threads was introduced as a clear spin-off of Instagram, which offers a built-in audience of more than two billion users, thereby sparing the new platform the challenge of starting from scratch.

Zuckerberg is seemingly taking advantage of Musk's chaotic ownership of Twitter to push out the new product, which Meta aspires will become the go-to communication channel for celebrities, companies, and politicians.

Under Musk, Twitter's content moderation has been drastically scaled back, with malfunctions and hasty choices driving away big-name personalities and advertisers.

The Tesla billionaire said last week that he was restricting access to Twitter in order to stop businesses from "scraping" the site in order to develop their AI. Then, Musk infuriated Twitter's most ardent devotees by announcing that access to its TweetDeck tool, which enables users to view a rapid stream of tweets at once, would only be available to paying clients.

Facebook scandals overshadow Threads

Despite Instagram's enormous user base, Threads owner Meta also has a legion of critics, many of whom are based in Europe. As a result, the growth of the platform may be slowed.

The company formerly known as Facebook is denounced mainly for its handling of personal data -- the essential ingredient for targeted ads that help it rake in billions of dollars in profits every quarter. 

A source familiar with the situation claims that Meta was leery of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a recent law that imposes stringent limitations on the world's "gatekeeper" internet corporations.

One guideline prohibits platforms from sharing user information across different products, which might apply in the instance of a connection between Threads and Instagram.

Meta was caught out for doing just that after it took control of t the messaging app WhatsApp, and European regulators may be more vigilant in the future to make sure that the company doesn't do so illegally with Threads. 

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Threads
  • Elon Musk
  • Twitter
  • Meta

Most Read

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
Hi-tech holocaust: Microsoft’s role in Gaza genocide

Microsoft's role in world’s first AI-driven genocide, in Gaza, exposed

  • Technology
  • 28 Oct 2025
What Marr evidently didn't seem to understand was that Hedges isn't saying that Western journalists manipulate the truth, but that they systematically amplify Israeli narratives they know are false. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Western journalists know they have a case to answer for their betrayal of Gaza, and it frightens them

  • Opinion
  • 24 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
An undated photo of US Air Force personnel from the 576th Flight Test Squadron Missile Handling Team installing a cable raceway on an intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (Staff Sgt Jonathan Snyder/US Air Force)
Politics

Trump nuclear test threat risks escalating tensions with China: NYT

Displaced Palestinians walk along the coastal road near Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, moving toward northern Gaza, Friday, Octtober. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Politics

US advances Gaza security force plan amid fragile ceasefire

Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer, OpenAI, listens to testimony during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Technology

OpenAI prepares for historic IPO targeting $1 trillion valuation

'Israel' approves illegal settlement expansion in occupied al-Quds
Politics

'Israel' approves illegal settlement expansion in occupied al-Quds

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS