Instagram/Threads Boss Kills Hopes Platform Will Challenge X In News

Instagram/Threads boss Adam Mosseri has thrown cold water on hopes many had that the platform would challenge X for breaking news.

Meta launched Threads to much fanfare and pent-up demand as consumers looked for an alternative to Musk-owned X. Many critics, however, said Threads’ ability to rival X would largely depend on whether it could capture the breaking news experience that X offers.

Unfortunately, Mosseri has said the platform has no plans to focus on that particular market:

We’re not anti-news. News is clearly already on Threads. People can share news; people can follow accounts that share news. We’re not going to get in the way of any either. But, we’re also not going go to amplify news on the platform. To do so would be too risky given the maturity of the platform, the downsides of over-promising, and the stakes.

Adam Mosseri (mosseri) — October 10, 2023

Without challenging X in the critical news market, it is unclear how Threads will differentiate itself from Meta’s existing platforms, let alone pull in disenfranchised X users.