EXTREMISM ON LINESix Things to Watch Following Meta's Threads Launch

Meta’s ‘Twitter killer,’ Threads, launched on July 6 to media fanfare. Thanks to integration with Instagram’s massive user base, Threads became the fastest consumer app to reach 100 million downloads, doing so in just five days. Meta executive Adam Mosseri, who now runs both Instagram and Threads, says the new text-based social app isn’t for news or politics. The goal of the app, he says, is to create a public square for other types of communities.

Although Meta is promising some forward-thinking safety features, such as blocking users with one tap and filtering out replies with certain words, the company has a history of failing to make good on its promises to protect targets of online hate and harassment. 

With another already politically charged U.S. election on the horizon, online hate and harassment at record highs, and a rise in antisemitism and extremist incidents both on- and offline, a new social media product of this scale will present serious challenges. Meta cannot simply wish them away by claiming its goal is to create “a positive and creative space to express your ideas.”

Here are six things the ADL says it will be watching as Threads continues to grow and some concerning initial observations:

1. Policies on Hate, Harassment and Extremism
Creating a new app was an opportunity for Meta to approach Terms of Use and Community Guidelines from a fresh perspective and consider the types of interactions the product encourages. Instead, Meta tacked on a few changes to Instagram’s existing policy without addressing the fundamental differences between Instagram and Threads. 

For example, Instagram’s explanation of how they mitigate the spread of false information is not relevant to Threads. It focuses on Instagram-specific features like ‘explore,’ hashtags, and stories – all features that are not available on Threads. Meta should explain if and how they will filter false information from Threads, in addition to being clear about their approach to other harmful media, such as synthetic media like deepfakes.

Meta’s suite of apps has created a labyrinth of policies on hate, harassment, and extremism. Unfortunately, they are not particularly user-friendly. In some instances, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have distinct policies, but in others, they refer back to an overarching Meta policy. A policy is only as good as its clarity and enforcement, and Threads’ hate policy is concerningly hard to find.