Shortly after the introduction of Threads, a strong contender to Twitter, Elon Musk took a swipe at Instagram, the team behind Meta’s latest text-based application. Responding to a tweet featuring an email from 2018, which discussed Musk deleting the Instagram app, sent to Juleanna Glover, an advisor to the owner of Twitter, Musk expressed his disapproval of the photo-video sharing platform.
Referring to mental health experts’ widespread classification of Instagram as a platform that encourages users to only share “perfect” pictures, creating a distorted perception of reality, Musk sarcastically stated that he prefers encountering strangers on his own platform.
He wrote, “I find it much better to face criticism from strangers on Twitter, rather than indulge in the false happiness of Instagram’s ‘hide-the-pain’ approach.”
This latest comment is part of a long-standing history of intense rivalry between the two tech moguls. Meta initially described Threads as “a platform that is sanely run” as a jab at Twitter. In response, Musk remarked, “I’m sure the Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s control without any other options. At least it will be ‘sane.’ I was concerned there for a moment.” The two billionaires have even jokingly offered to settle their differences through a cage fight.
Mark Zuckerberg, in his first tweet in over a decade, posted a meme featuring Spiderman pointing at another Spiderman, which seemed to allude to the similarities between Threads and Twitter. Threads, launched on Wednesday, aims to attract users seeking an alternative to the social media platform, which has been filled with chaos since Musk’s takeover.
Within the first few hours of its launch, Threads garnered over 10 million sign-ups, as announced by Meta’s CEO, Zuckerberg. Early celebrity adopters include renowned chef Gordon Ramsay, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Hugh Jackman, and media outlets such as The Washington Post and The Economist.
The app is now available on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries, with no advertisements for the time being. However, its release in Europe has been postponed due to concerns regarding data privacy. Meta also faces criticism for its handling of personal data, which plays a crucial role in targeted advertising, a significant source of profits.
