Since Twitter’s leadership overhaul in October 2022, a lot of water has flown, not towards a positive direction though. Take the rebranding exercise for example. While the micro-blogging platform got renamed as ‘X’ and the logo change reflected on the Apple App Store before July 31, media strategist Eric Seufert found out that the social media platform’s ranking on the Apple App Store’s “Top Downloaded” chart from July 27 to August 15 showing what the ‘X’ leadership didn’t anticipate, a downfall in the average app ranking.

“My hypothesis is that, while the terminally online are entirely aware of Twitter’s rebrand to X, most consumers aren’t, and their searches for ‘Twitter’ on platform stores surface ads and genuine search results that are in no way redolent of Twitter,” Seufert explained the phenomenon.

Yes, Twitter’s rebranding has likely caused confusion among its users, with a search for “Twitter” on the App Store now offering up ‘X’ as the first result, and “the bold, black listing is practically unrecognisable as the new evolution of Twitter,” as per the words of MashableIndia.

More embarrassment

As per Elon Musk’s latest statement, X’s block feature is now on the chopping block.

“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” Musk stated on ‘X’, as for the tech billionaire, “it makes no sense.”

It is to be noted that the ‘block’ feature is used to protect ‘X’ users from online trolling, harassment and threats. If one goes through the community guidelines framed by Apple and Google app stores, both tech giants have made it mandatory for social networking apps to include a block feature.

Also as per the data collected by third-party researcher Travis Brown, Musk has over 153 million ‘X’ followers but most of these ‘followers’ are fake and the count is being bloated by millions of new, inactive accounts.

Of the 153,209,283 X accounts following Musk, around 42% of his followers, or over 65.3 million users, have zero followers on their own accounts.

The average number of followers for all 153 million accounts following Elon Musk is just around 187, Brown’s data stated further, while only 453,000 Musk followers or 0.3% have subscribed to ‘X Premium.’

Over 72%, or nearly 112 million, of these users, following Musk, have less than 10 followers on their account, the data revealed further.

The Tesla CEO recently claimed that X now has over 540 million “monthly users”. However, the above finding may now present a huge question mark over this statement.

Meanwhile, ‘X’ has fixed the bug that prevented the platform from displaying images tweeted before 2014.

“Over the weekend (August 19 and 20) we had a bug that prevented us from displaying images from before 2014. No images or data were lost. We fixed the bug, and the issue will be fully resolved in the coming days,” the company stated.

‘X’ users complained about their tweets published prior to December 2014 disappearing. Legendary American television personality Ellen DeGeneres stated on the micro-blogging platform that her famous 2014 Academy Awards ceremony selfie with celebrities like Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence also went missing from her tweet.

X is suing its way out of accountability?

In July 2023, Bloomberg reported about X losing advertisers, partly due to its lax enforcement against hate speech. The report carried inputs from Callum Hood, the head of research at the non-profit organisation called ‘Centre for Countering Digital Hate’. CCDH has been highlighting instances in which the micro-blogging platform has allowed violent, hateful, or misleading content to remain on its portal.

How did X reacted to this? It informed the media about filing a lawsuit against CCDH and the European Climate Foundation. The charge? ‘Misuse’ of X data leading to the loss of the latter’s advertising revenue. X also alleged that the data used for the CCDH research was obtained using the login credentials from the European Climate Foundation, which had an account with the third-party social listening tool Brandwatch.

“Brandwatch has a licence to use Twitter’s data through its API. X alleges that the CCDH was not authorised to access the Twitter/X data. The suit also accuses the CCDH of scraping Twitter’s platform without proper authorisation, in violation of the company’s terms of service,” stated a WIRED article.

“The Centre for Countering Digital Hate’s research shows that hate and disinformation is spreading like wildfire on the platform under Musk’s ownership, and this lawsuit is a direct attempt to silence those efforts,” remarked CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed.

In December 2022, Elon Musk claimed that the hate speech on Twitter was down by a third, contrary to the claims of many of the former employees that the social media company was not doing enough to counter hate speech and misinformation.

When BBC did its investigation into Musk’s claims of hate speeches going down on X, they found out that banned accounts of polarising characters like Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, and Liz Crokin, one of the biggest propagators of the QAnon conspiracy theory, have been reinstated.

“Other lesser-known Twitter users have taken advantage of the new ownership. One account with a racial slur in its user name was able to get a blue checkmark. Another one was purchased by a neo-Nazi who tweets videos of himself reciting Mein Kampf – Hitler’s autobiography,” the report stated further.

“Our own reporting also provides some clues. The BBC analysed over 1,100 previously banned Twitter accounts that were reinstated under Mr Musk. A third appeared to violate Twitter’s own guidelines. [Violent] content was also a scourge on Twitter for years before Mr Musk acquired the platform,” it remarked.

In July 2023, X reinstated American rapper Kanye West after an almost eight-month ban for a series of offencive tweets, including the one showing a symbol combining a swastika and the Star of David.

X Corp lawyer Alex Spiro rejected CCDH’s allegations of Twitter “failing to act on 99%” of hateful messages from accounts with Twitter Blue subscriptions. He also criticised the organisation’s methodology, writing that “the article is little more than a series of inflammatory, misleading, and unsupported claims based on a cursory review of random tweets.”

Sprio didn’t stop there, as he alleged further that CCDH was supported by funding from “X Corp’s commercial competitors, as well as government entities and their affiliates”, thus accusing the non-profit of attempting to drive away advertisers. But, CCDH refused all these charges.

Experts told that the legal action was the latest move by social media platforms to shrink access to their data by researchers and civil society organisations.

“We’re talking about access not just for researchers or academics, but it could also potentially be extended to advocates and journalists and even policymakers,” says Liz Woolery, digital policy lead at PEN America, a non-profit that advocates for free expression.

“Without that kind of access, it is really difficult for us to engage in the research necessary to better understand the scope and scale of the problem that we face, of how social media is affecting our daily life, and make it better,” she stated further.

Twitter following Meta example

In 2021, Meta blocked researchers at New York University’s Ad Observatory from collecting data about political ads and COVID-19 misinformation. In 2022, the Mark Zuckerberg-led social media giant company announced winding down its monitoring tool CrowdTangle, which has been instrumental in allowing researchers and journalists to monitor Facebook.

Meta and X rivalries went to that extent a month back, when Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg challenged each other in a cage fight. However, the reality is that both ventures are suing Israeli data collection firm Bright Data, for scraping their sites to collect data. Meta itself contracted the same company to scrape the data of the social media company’s rivals.

“Musk announced in March that the company would begin charging USD 42,000 per month for its API, pricing out the vast majority of researchers and academics who have used it to study issues like disinformation and hate speech in more than 17,000 academic studies,” stated the article.

Social media platforms vs researchers

“For years, advocacy organisations have used examples of violative content on social platforms as a way to pressure advertisers to withdraw their support, forcing companies to address problems or change their policies. Without the underlying research into hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content on social media, these organisations would have little ability to force companies to change,” WIRED noted.

In 2020, advertisers, including Starbucks, Patagonia, and Honda, left Facebook over the social media company’s lax approach against misinformation, particularly posts by former United States president Donald Trump.

After taking over Twitter in October 2022, Elon Musk fired many of the staffers responsible for keeping the micro-blogging platform safe from hate speeches and misinformation. The tech billionaire also reinstated the accounts of banned users like Trump and influencer Andrew Tate, currently indicted under human trafficking laws in Romania.

The University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute, along with Oregon State University, UCLA, and University of California Merced, released a study in 2023, which found that hate speech increased dramatically after Musk took over Twitter’s reigns. Also, the company saw its advertising revenue slashed in half as brands got concerned about their products appearing next to misinformation and hate speech.

The study got vindicated as in November 2022, Elon Musk tweeted, “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

Woolery worried that the cost of fighting the lawsuits may intimidate research bodies and non-profits doing the work of exposing hate speeches and misinformation in the domain of social media.

“Lawsuits like this, especially when we are talking about a non-profit, are definitely seen as an attempt to silence critics. If a non-profit or another individual is not in a financial position where they can really, truly give it all it takes to defend themselves, then they run the risk of either having a poor defence or of simply settling and just trying to get out of it to avoid incurring further costs and reputational damage,” she stated further.

A tough road ahead?

“But the lawsuit doesn’t just put pressure on researchers themselves. It also highlights another avenue through which it now may be more difficult for advocates to access data: third-party social listening platforms. These companies access and analyse data from social platforms to allow their clients—from national security contractors to marketing agencies—to gain insights into their audiences and target messages,” stated the WIRED
article.

Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, founder and executive director of CyberWell, a non-profit tracking anti-Semitism online in both English and Arabic, stated that in November 2022, his company reached out to Talkwalker, a third-party social listening company, to get a subscription that would allow them to analyse anti-Semitic speech on the then Twitter.

Montemayor told that Talkwalker informed her that the company could not take the non-profit on as a client because of the nature of CyberWell’s work. Montemayor also suspected that “the existing open source tools and social listening tools are being reserved and paywalled only for advertisers and paid researchers. Non-profit organisations are actively being blocked from using these resources.”

“Talkwalker did not respond to a request for comment about whether its agreements with X prohibit it from taking on organisations doing hate speech monitoring as clients. X did not respond to questions about what parameters it sets for the kinds of customers that third-party social listening companies can take on,” the article pointed out.

X’s lawsuit against CCDH also cited a 2023 agreement between Brandwatch and X that outlined that any breach of the micro-blogging platform’s data via Brandwatch’s customers would be considered the responsibility of the social listening company.

Yoel Roth, X’s former senior director of trust and safety at Twitter, stated on BlueSky, “Brandwatch’s social listening business is entirely, completely, 100% dependant on Twitter data access, so I guess it’s not surprising to see how far backwards they’re bending to placate the company.”

A representative from another third-party social listening tool that uses X data, confirmed to WIRED that companies like theirs are heavily reliant on Twitter/X data.

“A lot of the services that are very Twitter-centric, a lot of them are 100% Twitter,” the anonymous source stated.

“In terms of data, Twitter continues to play a significant role in providing data to analytics companies,” the company added further, while noting that X’s new paid-for API has put the squeeze on third-party analytics companies, as losing access to the micro-blogging platform’s data will destroy these research companies.

The source even talked about specific “know your customer” guidelines prohibiting sharing X data with government agencies without prior permission.

After publishing a report on the increasing anti-Semitic content on Twitter since Musk’s takeover, London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), experienced a deluge of abusive tweets, with Musk himself taking potshots at the think-tank with a Tweet carrying poop emoji.

In December 2022, came out ‘Twitter Files’, a declassification of internal documents showing that pre-Musk Twitter had ‘silenced’ conservative users on its platform. Some of these declassified documents even included the names and emails of disinformation researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Some of these individuals have now reportedly become the targets of online hate.

Sasha Havlicek, cofounder and CEO of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), now pins her hopes on the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which will eventually mandate access for researchers to data from large social platforms. And yes, such laws should be made mandatory in other parts of the world.

In light of the numerous challenges discussed, the trajectory of Elon Musk’s leadership and its ultimate outcome remains intriguing. Overcoming the array of obstacles will determine his success in steering the platform forward.

The post X-Man Elon Musk’s Apocalypse appeared first on International Finance.

Ella Irwin, the vice president of trust and safety at Twitter, left the organization. A.J. Brown, the organization’s head of brand safety and ad quality, and Maie Aiyed, a program manager who handled brand-safety relationships, reportedly resigned after Irwin left.

It has been close to a year since Elon Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, an investment which has so far proven to be a colossal loss for the maverick tech billionaire. He has significantly downsized the company’s employees and reversed content distribution-related restrictions. As a result, several companies stopped or reduced their advertising expenditures.

According to the 2023 Axios Harris reputation rankings, Twitter under Elon Musk is the fourth-most-despised brand in the United States. And the scepticism around his ownership of Twitter keeps growing.

Since Elon Musk took control, phishing attempts against Twitter (now rebranded as X) have increased. The changes to the ‘Twitter Blue Premium Verification’ service have given threat actors a pretext to steal users’ login information.

Researchers at cybersecurity vendor Proofpoint have noticed an upsurge in Twitter-related phishing attacks. According to the Proofpoint team, numerous advertisements have employed enticements relating to Twitter verification or the new Twitter Blue offering, such as “Twitter Blue Badge Billing Statement Available.”

After taking over the company, Elon Musk added an $8 monthly fee for the ‘Twitter Blue’ service. He has guaranteed that tweets from verified users will be prioritized on Twitter feeds. Users who paid were verified with the website’s well-known blue tick. The plan has been suspended, nevertheless, due to several spoof account issues.

Twitter and phishing attempts

Twitter phishing attempts use URLs that redirect to criminal infrastructure in addition to Google Forms for data harvesting. Vice President of threat research and Detection Sherrod DeGrippo stated, “These initiatives typically target members of the media and the entertainment industry, including journalists and Twitter users who have the appearance of being verified. Frequently, the email address is the same as the Twitter handle used, or it may be found in the user’s Twitter bio.”

“While we have occasionally seen Twitter credential phishing employing lures linked to verification from cybercrime threat actors in the past, the activity has picked up recently,” the official added further.

In the past, TA482, a hacker gang, has frequently used Twitter-related phishing to target media users. But research published in July 2023 by Check Point Research claimed that delivery service DHL is the most impersonated company for phishing scams, followed by Microsoft and LinkedIn. When it comes to the most-targeted brands for these kinds of attacks, Twitter (rebranded as X) does not even make the top ten.

DeGrippo stated further, “To maximize the possibility that a user would interact with social engineering content, cybercriminal threat actors frequently exploit themes connected to important news stories and relevant to people’s interests.”

Even if Twitter and the social media platform are currently quite active, acquiring access to accounts is still profitable. Twitter accounts that are legitimately verified typically have larger audiences than the average user, and compromised accounts can be used to spread false information, persuade users to interact with additional malicious content like fraudulent cryptocurrency scams and expand phishing campaigns to other users.

De Grippo warned that “pig butchering” fraud, or attacks that start on social media networks before moving on to other services with the ultimate goal of obtaining cryptocurrency, might be launched via Twitter phishing. This kind of activity has increased lately, according to Proofpoint.

Cybercrime on Twitter post takeover

Impersonation of well-known firms has plagued the new authentication system Elon Musk created. Following fake tweets sent by spoof accounts using the names of their respective companies, Eli Lilly and Lockheed Martin suffered a decline in their share prices.

With the ransomware gang Yanluowang joining X in July 2023 to sell their wares, concerns have been raised that the network will be used by hackers to sell stolen data due to the billionaire Tesla’s devotion to free speech.

He cut down the number of employees responsible for X’s safety and content moderation before the most recent high-profile departures from the concerned department took place. He fired the whole artificial intelligence ethics team, which was in charge of making sure that consumers weren’t pushed harmful information by algorithms.

The billionaire recently downplayed worries about the prevalence of hate speech on Twitter. During a Wall Street Journal event, he asserted that hate speech on the site has decreased since he took over the firm in October 2022 and that Twitter has reduced “spam, frauds, and bots” by “at least 90%.”

There is no data to back up those assertions, experts, and ad industry insiders told CNBC. Some even claim that Twitter is purposefully obstructing independent researchers from tracking these numbers.

Ponzi schemes

X is among the most well-known social networks in the world. Naturally, it is also a sanctuary for scammers of all stripes and cybercriminals.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with common Twitter scams and how they operate, the risk quotient and how to successfully defend yourself against them.

There are many Ponzi schemes out there such as phishing, account hacking scams, conversation frauds, bitcoin scams, and bot scams.

Phishing, a sort of cyberattack in which a threat actor impersonates someone or something they are not, can affect any social media network. With Twitter (rebranded as X), a con artist has virtually endless opportunities to phish users. To provoke the target into entering their credentials, they can use email phishing, by sending false messages.

In November 2022, not long after seizing control of Twitter, Elon Musk unveiled ‘Twitter Blue’, a monthly subscription service that costs money and adds a blue checkmark to a user’s account.

According to a study by Bleeping Computer, con artists promptly took note of this attempt and launched a sophisticated phishing assault to steal the usernames and passwords of users who wanted to confirm their accounts.

Since Twitter’s creation, similar phishing campaigns have plagued the social media platform, with fraudsters coming up with ever-creative ways to steal user credentials. The best thing a user can do is to set up two-factor verification and carefully examine each email that purports to be from Twitter because this won’t change regardless of who is in charge of the social network.

X’s security and user experience have deteriorated under Elon Musk’s ownership, becoming increasingly perilous for users. In a recent story published by Wired.com, Tim Utzig, a visually impaired individual was deceived by scammers on the micro-blogging platform. Tim, relying on a screen reader, couldn’t detect the scam indicators when responding to a tweet from a compromised account. He lost $1,000 in the process.

The author, concerned by the social media portal’s lack of responsiveness, teamed up with a social engineering expert named Steve to track down the scammers. The efforts revealed a network of fraudsters using elaborate methods, exploiting vulnerabilities, and leveraging blockchain transactions to deceive victims. Multiple individuals were identified through their payment accounts, linked to real-world addresses, underscoring the scope of the scam.

This story illuminates several critical issues with X. The rise in fraudulent activities on the platform, exemplified by Tim’s case, indicates a worrisome lack of effective security measures. The decline in accessibility support for visually impaired users further compounds the problem, leaving vulnerable individuals like Tim susceptible to exploitation.

The narrative also raises concerns about Twitter’s changing priorities, as evidenced by its rebranding to “X” and ambitious plans to become an “everything app.” This pivot, while aiming to expand the platform’s capabilities, poses significant security risks given the existing vulnerabilities that scammers exploit. The story serves as a cautionary tale, emphasizing the need for users to be vigilant and the urgent necessity for Twitter to prioritize both accessibility and security to prevent further harm to its user base.

Then there are account hacking scams. The blue checkmark on Twitter has always been reserved for the most eminent people, including celebrities, politicians, and influencers. On the other hand, cybercriminals have always coveted the social evidence that comes with obtaining a blue check. They routinely hack verified accounts to get one.

For instance, a 17-year-old teenager hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, the then-presidential contender, and Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, in 2020 using a straightforward social engineering technique. The adolescent received a three-year prison sentence after his actions, but they demonstrate how simple it is for cybercriminals to hack verified Twitter accounts, according to The Guardian.

It’s easy to suppose that many people fell for the young boy’s con after he hacked into Biden and Gates’ accounts to demand a Bitcoin payment. However, this was not an isolated incident; breaches occur much too regularly, and most often, regular users are the ones who suffer. This is why it’s crucial to keep in mind that you shouldn’t ever blindly believe what you see on Twitter. Even if it seems like your favourite celebrity is truly tweeting, make sure to confirm that their message is authentic before taking any action.

Conversion frauds are also tricky. Cybercriminals are developing more inventive ways to con consumers because everyone wants a blue checkmark. Whether you use Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you’ve received a message from someone promising to quickly verify your account.

There are only two ways to have a verified Twitter account in practice. One is a holdover from the first approach, namely making a formal verification request through the platform. There were several requirements you had to meet to receive the blue badge. Most importantly, you had to demonstrate that you are a “notable” person involved in politics, the media, or other fields. This is no longer functional, although those who previously had verified accounts may still appreciate the blue tick icon.

There is currently just one method to get the tiny blue checkmark, which is to join up for ‘Twitter Blue’ if you still want one.

Additionally, be sure to report any con artists who offer to verify your account to Twitter. Visit X’s support page and complete the necessary form there to accomplish this.

In the cryptocurrency industry, scams are all too rampant, and many of them take place on Twitter. You have probably encountered one if you follow cryptocurrency-related accounts or occasionally post about cryptocurrencies.

Twitter cryptocurrency scams come in a variety of forms, some of which are glaringly evident while others are more subtle. One way con artists do this is by pretending to be a well-known digital currency influencer or analyst, posting false tweets, or even sending direct messages to their intended victims. Their tweets may promote worthless cryptocurrencies that will eventually lose value or advertise phoney airdrops and dubious services.

Another scammer favourite is fake cryptocurrency giveaways. This kind of hoax relies on persuading the victim that they would receive a huge reward in exchange for a tiny cryptocurrency deposit to pay a “fee” or something comparable. Of course, the fraudster will just take your money and move on to the next victim if you make the mistake of depositing it.

Make sure you thoroughly research any information regarding a specific asset and only trade on reputable cryptocurrency exchanges if you want to avoid falling victim to crypto-related scams on Twitter.

Then there are bot scams. As you may already be aware, social media sites are crawling with bots—computer programs that mimic human activity. Twitter is no different. A 2022 study from the online analytics firm Similarweb discovered that 5% of Twitter users are bots and that they produce between 21% and 29% of the network’s content.

Although bots are not inherently evil, con artists frequently use them to disseminate false and misleading information, encourage victims to click on harmful links, install malware, and carry out other harmful activities. On Twitter, networks of bots may work together to retweet and like posts to reach a larger audience.

You should always carefully examine any account that sounds suspicious, especially if it frequently spams links in responses to other tweets or sends direct messages, as some Twitter bots can be challenging to recognize and initially resemble real accounts. Block or mute the account in question, and then report it to the micro-blogging platform if you believe it to be a harmful bot.

The recent developments surrounding Twitter, including the departure of key officials responsible for brand safety and content moderation, have raised concerns about the platform’s susceptibility to hate speech and cybercrime. The abrupt resignation of prominent figures like Ella Irwin, A.J. Brown, and Maie Aiyed has had an impact on the platform’s ability to maintain a safe and controlled online environment.

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and his subsequent changes, there have been notable shifts in the platform’s policies and practices. These changes have led to decreased content restrictions and alterations to the premium verification service, which has been exploited by cybercriminals for phishing attempts. These phishing attacks use various tactics, including false email messages and Google Forms, to trick users into revealing their login credentials.

Additionally, Elon Musk’s takeover seems to have made Twitter a more attractive target for hackers, increasing phishing attempts. The compromised accounts, particularly those with the coveted blue checkmark, can be used to spread false information, promote scams, and expand phishing campaigns to other users.

Furthermore, concerns have been raised about the rise of cybercrime on Twitter, such as the selling of stolen data and the potential for pig butchering fraud, which involves using the platform as a stepping stone to other services and ultimately targeting cryptocurrency.

It’s worth noting that while Elon Musk has claimed improvements in reducing hate speech and spam on the platform, these assertions lack concrete data to support them. The prevalence of scams and cybercrime, including Ponzi schemes, phishing, account hacking, and bot scams, remains a significant challenge for Twitter users.

In navigating this landscape, users are advised to exercise caution, practice good online hygiene, and be sceptical of unsolicited messages or offers. Implementing two-factor authentication, carefully scrutinizing emails and messages, and reporting suspicious accounts are crucial steps to protect oneself from falling victim to cybercrime on the platform. As Twitter continues to evolve under Elon Musk’s ownership, vigilance and awareness remains the key to staying safe in this ever-changing digital environment.

The post Twitter’s cybercrime mess appeared first on International Finance.

Yes, the fight has indeed started, but not in the ring. On July 5, Mark Zuckerberg posted his first tweet in 11 years, while posting the popular meme of identical Spider-Men facing off.

Elon Musk replied with a laughing face emoticon in reply to a tweet that said Meta’s new ‘Threads’ app has been made using a keyword with only the keys for Copy and Paste features.

However, the ‘News of The 2023’ is that Mark Zuckerberg, after taking on Snapchat and TikTok through Instagram’s ‘Story’ and ‘Reel’, has now chosen his next target in the form of Elon Musk, by launching ‘Threads’.

‘Threads’ Is An Instant Hit

While alternatives like ‘Mastodon’ and ‘Blue Sky’ saw an uptick in subscribers after Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, none of them has been able to pose any problem for the micro-blogging platform, which, as per the 2023 stats, has 353.90 million users (3.93% decrease from 2022). It is worth mentioning that ‘Mastodon’ and ‘Blue Sky’ work on a new phenomenon called ‘Decentralized Social Media Protocols’.

However, things have been different for ‘Threads’. It has garnered 10 million subscribers (and the number is still growing), since its July 6 launch. However, regulatory constraints have ensured that the European Union countries won’t be able to enjoy the services of the app.

Brands like Billboard, HBO, NPR and Netflix have already set up their accounts on Threads.

Thread users will need an Instagram account to log in. After signing up, they can follow the same accounts they follow on Instagram.

The app has similarities with Twitter. Retweets will be called “Reposts” and tweets will be mentioned as “Threads”. Posts on Threads can be 500 characters long, compared to Twitter’s 280, while videos with a maximum span of five minutes can also be posted. Also, a post can be shared as a link on other platforms. Along with these, users can unfollow, block, restrict or report profiles/accounts. Post replies will have the ‘Filter’ option as well.

While Threads will have similarities with Mastodon, Meta is also reportedly planning to make the app compatible with ActivityPub, thus entering the domain of ‘Decentralized Social Media’, where social networks are going to be interoperable, and thus allowing the Threads users to take their accounts and followers to other ActivityPub-supported apps.

Zuckerburg’s First Punch A Well-Timed One

As per the Guardian, Meta won’t accept ads on Threads for 2023.

“Currently, the main feed is a mixture of content that users follow, as well as content recommended from the algorithm. There are currently no plans to allow people to limit that to only people they follow. People will keep their usernames from Instagram, reducing the possibility of people name-squatting high-profile usernames,” the report stated.

While people are entitled to call ‘Threads’ the copycat version of Twitter, due to the similarities between the two, Mark Zuckerberg followed similar practices when he took on TikTok and Snapchat. However, the timing of the app’s launch couldn’t have been a better one, as since October 2022, Twitter’s brand value has taken a nosedive due to Elon Musk’s erratic way of handling the micro-blogging platform’s affairs.

It all started with Elon Musk firing the micro-blogging firm’s entire leadership and 70% of the staffers (it has gone over 80% now). These were followed by the chaotic launch of ‘Twitter Blue’. In the meantime, advertisers started pulling out of the platform.

Facing hate speech-related lawsuits across the countries due to its updated content moderation policy, failure to pay property rents, frequent service glitches and the list of troubles has only got bigger for the social media platform in the last nine months. Its valuation has gone down to USD 20 billion in March 2023, way down from the USD 44 billion, which Elon Musk paid while buying the platform in October 2022.

Elon Musk also admitted the difficulties faced by him while running Twitter’s administrative affairs. To address this, American media executive Linda Yaccarino was brought in as the micro-blogging platform’s new CEO a month back.

While analysts thought that the move will bring some sort of administrative sanity to the micro-blogging platform, things have gone southwards since then.

Twitter has now limited how much content users can view on a daily basis. Also, the users are now required to log in to view the site. Also, the platform restricted unverified accounts to viewing 600 tweets a day. The cap was later upped to 1,000.

Elon Musk defended these changes as “temporary limits” meant to address “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation”, while stating that AI companies were taking “vast amounts of data” from Twitter, which forced the latter to perform the ‘costly operation’ of deploying more servers.

The Final Words

Changes are always good and welcome, when they are backed by informed decision-making and employed in a smooth manner. For Twitter, unfortunately, policy changes since October 2022 have brought only frustration for the users and the latter have been pushed to quit the platform.

Mark Zuckerberg has chosen the right moment to pounce upon his rival. Thread has been immensely popular on day one itself. Those, who got tired of Elon Musk’s erratic way of running Twitter’s affairs and were looking out for alternatives, are now bracing the app.

If the duel between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg gets compared with a cage fight, it’s right now standing at the 1-0 scoreline in the favour of the Meta boss. Will his Tesla counterpart, known for his online shenanigans, come up with a response? Let’s wait and watch.

The post IF Insights: Threads vs Twitter: Mark Zuckerberg delivers first punch to Elon Musk appeared first on International Finance.