Threads’ ‘positive’ vibe tested by users known for false claims

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Since Meta Platforms  launched Threads, millions of users have joined the new social platform that promises “positive, productive conversations” — an apparent swipe at the divisive rhetoric that is common on Twitter and other sites.
That promise will be more difficult to keep as the app’s popularity grows — it’s so far drawn 70 million users. That early adopter list includes some connected to the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech on other sites, according to checks by Bloomberg, confirmed by independent researchers.
Already, some of those users are testing the limits of the new app, making false claims about elections and casting doubts on vaccine safety. “We’re already seeing plenty of high-profile accounts that have been known to spread harmful and misleading content,” says Melanie Smith, head of research for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s US arm.
Among the new user accounts on Threads: Jack Posobiec, a far-right journalist who has espoused supremacist views; Tim Pool, a YouTube commentator who has been accused of spreading right-wing misinformation. Threads has started with some built-in defense mechanisms for harmful content, as its user policies are the same as Instagram’s.
When people click to follow accounts that have been flagged for spreading misinformation in the past, for instance, Threads shows a warning asking if they’re sure. Meta, the biggest social media company which also owns Facebook and Instagram, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it was aware of the Thread accounts from users who had spread disinformation or hate speech on other platforms.
A number of far-right news outlets have also joined the app, with verified accounts for Breitbart News and The Gateway Pundit among them, but haven’t yet posted much. The Threads account for War Room, a show on Real America’s Voice TV run by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon shared a clip on Threads Thursday featuring Naomi Wolf, who accused a prominent pharmaceutical company of committing  fraud when it sought emergency authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine.  Several verified accounts attributed to state-run Russian news outlet Sputnik had also set up Threads accounts but most hadn’t yet posted.
Meta formally launched Threads on July 6. The platform currently limits the ways in which a user can discover content. Unlike Twitter, users on Threads cannot search for specific phrases and are forced to view a feed that’s decided by Meta’s algorithms. That means popular users are likely to be promoted widely via the algorithm.
For Threads, ISD US’s Smith urges users to exercise caution. “This is a social media app that is owned by Meta who have failed consistently in governing and moderating other platforms that they own,” she says.

EU users find way to download Meta’s unavailable Threads app:
European football teams, media like Le Monde and Agence France-Presse and other organisations on the continent have found a way to get Meta Platforms Inc’s new Threads app, even though the company hasn’t launched it in the European Union (EU).
Verified accounts for French media companies Le Figaro and Liberation were posting on the app the day it went live as well as left wing French lawmaker Francois Ruffin, who deleted an initial post. German football club RB Leipzig and French peer Saint-Etienne also started posting on Threads, as well  as a verified account for Real Madrid player Eduardo Camavinga.
Threads, which according to Mark Zuckerberg had already garnered more than 30 million users after it went live on July 6, won’t be available in app stores in the 27 European Union countries while the company works out how the bloc’s regulations around data use will affect the app, a person familiar with the matter has said.
Still, there are other ways of getting access, such as connecting to the US App Store for the iPhone users, or an Android package kit. Also known as APKs, these programmes let Android users download apps manually that aren’t on their Google Play store.
“Our subscribers are all French, it is not complicated to join the app”, said Mickaël Frison, who handles social networks for French daily Liberation. “It is a matter of days or weeks before politicians start to join if the conversation happens there.”
Representatives for the other media groups and football clubs didn’t respond to requests for comment. Ruffin didn’t respond to a request for comment. Real Madrid didn’t immediately respond on behalf of Camavinga.

Meta’s Threads has 70 million signups in two days after launch:
Meta Platforms Inc’s new social media app Threads garnered 70 million users in two days after its launch, a sign of enthusiasm that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said was “way beyond our expectations.”
Threads launched as an alternative to Elon Musk’s Twitter, which had 237.8 million users as of July 2022, but has also been beset by controversy.
On Threads, which closely resembles Twitter’s look, people can post text and links and reply to or repost messages from others. The app will let users port over their existing follower lists and account names from Instagram, Meta’s photo and video-sharing app that counts major brands, celebrities and creators among its more than 2 billion users.
Threads is currently ranked No. 1 among free apps on Apple Inc’s App Store in the US. “70 million sign ups on Threads as of this morning, ” Zuckerberg said in a post on his Threads account. “That’s way beyond our expectations.”