Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg is moving forward with his plans to launch a platform to rival Twitter, trying to attract influential figures with millions of followers, such as media personality Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama.
The standalone app is codenamed Project92 and could be genericized as Thread, according to a report by tech news site The Verge.
The report revealed that Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, spoke in an internal meeting on Thursday that the app was a “response to Twitter” by the owner of Facebook and Instagram.
Cox was also quoted as saying, “Content creators and public figures are interested in having a properly managed platform that they believe they can trust and rely on for distribution,” in an apparent reference to Twitter’s management under Elon Musk.
Millions of followers
Cox reportedly said Mita is in discussions with Oprah Winfrey, who has more than 42 million followers on Twitter, and the Dalai Lama, who has nearly 19 million, as potential users, adding that coding for the app began in January and would be made available “as soon as possible.” maybe”.
According to previous reports, the app will be based on Instagram and users will be able to log in with their Instagram username and password, taking their followers, user bio, and verification over to the new app.
Cox said the app was meant to be “safe, easy to use, and reliable” and to give creators “a solid place to build and grow their audiences.”
Oprah’s Twitter page
A screenshot of the app shared by the Verge showed an interface similar to that of Twitter, with blue ticks, profile pictures, and like, reply, and retweet buttons.
Twitter disturbances
It is noteworthy that Twitter went through a turbulent time under Musk’s leadership, although the Tesla chief insisted that the platform’s user base had not declined since he bought the company last October.
Musk claimed, weeks after he bought Twitter, that the number of daily active users had reached an all-time high of more than 250 million.
However, as an ad-dependent business, Twitter faces financial problems.
The advertiser boycott was launched over concerns including deteriorating platform moderation standards and Twitter’s failed relaunch of the subscription service, which led to a large number of fake verified accounts.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Twitter ad revenue in the first week of May was down 59% from the same period last year, reflecting concerns about the platform.
And last month, Twitter named Linda Iaccarino, a television advertising executive from NBCUniversal, as its new CEO.
