Instagram Boss Adam Mosseri clarifies that the social networking platform will not prioritize politics and hard news on their new platform, Threads. This comes as a response to Meta’s recent launch of Threads, which aims to be a competitor to Twitter as a digital town square.
Unlike Twitter, which has embraced political discussions, Mosseri states that Instagram’s goal is not to replace Twitter but to create a public square for communities who may not have embraced Twitter or are interested in a less contentious environment for conversations. While politics and hard news will inevitably appear on the platform, Instagram will not actively promote these topics.
One user pointed out that if Threads wants to be a true “public square,” downranking such content would be counterproductive. Mosseri responded by stating that they won’t discourage or down-rank news or politics but won’t actively court them as they have in the past.
Mosseri also mentioned that Instagram doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes made by Facebook in the past, where promising too much to the media industry led to negative consequences. While he acknowledges the importance of politics and hard news, the engagement or revenue they generate is not worth the scrutiny, negativity, or integrity risks that come alongside them.
Instead, Mosseri believes that there are already enough amazing communities on Instagram, such as sports, music, fashion, beauty, and entertainment, to create a vibrant platform without focusing on politics or hard news.
It is worth noting that Threads has already surpassed 70 million users since its launch. To sign up for the platform, users simply need an Instagram account, and they will automatically be registered for Threads.