Meta Tests Ads on Threads, Challenges Musk’s X

To expand its alternative to Elon Musk’s X, Facebook parent company Meta announced Friday that it has started testing advertisements on Threads, its newest social network.

Eight months after Musk acquired Twitter (now known as X), when improvements like premium memberships and less content moderation were turning off users and advertisers, the platform made its debut in the summer of 2023.

Since advertisements provide for the majority of Meta’s revenue across all of its free platforms, the introduction of advertising on Threads was anticipated.

“We’re starting a small test for ads on Threads with a handful of brands in the US and Japan,” Instagram and Threads chief Adam Mosseri announced Friday.

He said his team would closely monitor feedback to ensure “they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting.”

The advertisements are released at a time when Meta is under increased scrutiny following the termination of the company’s US fact-checking program, which was a vital weapon in the battle against online disinformation, by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who also loosened content moderation guidelines to permit more divisive speech, much like X did.

Many interpreted the ruling as an effort to please President Donald Trump, whose conservative base has long grumbled that digital platforms’ use of third-party fact-checking was a means of restricting free expression and censoring right-wing content.

“The launch of Threads ads just weeks after Meta’s content moderation makeover will raise advertiser’s eyebrows,” Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg said, predicting negative reactions from users already skeptical of Meta.

“But the volatility at TikTok is spurring brands to seek alternatives, and Meta isn’t going to pass up an opportunity to throw Threads into the mix.”

The future of TikTok, the well-known video-sharing software from China, in the US, is uncertain.

Trump has halted the app’s adoption for two and a half months to reach an agreement with Beijing, even though a law prohibiting it went into effect on January 19 due to worries that the Chinese government may use it to secretly influence US public opinion or spy on Americans.

Although these figures are contested, Meta asserts that Threads has 300 million monthly users.

Instagram users are regularly led to Threads without consciously deciding to visit the network, critics note, which could inflate user figures.

The Guardian