Tech giant Meta is facing a firestorm of criticism, with many saying that its new Threads app’s explosive user growth could unleash hate, fake news, and misinformation and amplify right-leaning content on the platform.
The list of potential improvements that can be made to Twitter is long. Since Elon Musk’s takeover last year, he’s made several substantial changes, leaving many quite dissatisfied.
Many users are adamant about discarding the unwelcome subscription models that now plague the platform, while others are quick to criticise Musk’s apparent prioritisation of profit over accessibility tools.
But the prevailing sentiment among many is that urgent action needs to be taken to confront the alarming spread of hate, fake news, alternative facts and disinformation, with only a minority viewing it as a form of free speech.
It would seem logical to incorporate these concerns into the launch of the not so formidable competitor to Twitter – Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads app. But the text-based community forum has left many quite underwhelmed and sceptical as they believe these crucial issues have not been adequately addressed.
After launching earlier this month, Threads garnered 100 million users within just five days.
A social media expert told Arabian Business that within just 1 week, it already became apparent that misinformation would be a typical occurrence on the platform.
“In the first few days, you had a kind of relatively benign, relatively nice platform. They’re not going into politics, they’re not really doing news, [instead] it’s going to be a respectful platform for all. Then you started to see some of the popular accounts who perhaps lean a little bit more to the far-right who maybe have experienced amplification under Musk’s Twitter,” Chris Stokel-Walker, tech journalist and author of a number of books on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, said.
“Many were coming onto the platform and kind of trying to test the waters and say: “Look Meta, you have to make a decision here. Are you going to allow me or not?” To a lot of criticism, Meta has kind of said: yes, you are allowed on it.
“We already know through academic research and Twitter’s own research that the political conversation on social media is genuinely skewed to the right. Despite, more ironically, right-wing, particularly far-right, say they are being censored or shadow banned… [but] the reality is they’re often actually amplified more than the left-wing or those with particularly centrist views.”
Stokel-Walker believes that the fact that Threads’ centre ground is “shifting quite significantly rightwards” is a growing concern because this could lead to the realm of “alternative facts,” as well as fake news, disinformation, and parallel realities around a lot of topics.
“This could be quite a significant issue.”
However, the way Threads is designed is, in some ways, able to limit the spread of this, he said. For instance, users cannot easily identify those who quoted specific posts, which presents a mixed scenario. On the one hand, it prevents the magnitude of pile-ons seen on Twitter, as users cannot trace retweets or reposts with comments.
The problem with using tech to curb false information
Curbing the spread of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation remains a shared challenge among most social media platforms. This is mainly done through automated systems that rely on keyword filtering and content sentiment analysis, but the reality is, there’s only so much technology alone can do without human intervention.
“The other way [to curb the spread] is kind of defining, I suppose, what is fake news, what is wrong, what is disinformation, and that is hugely disputed and partly because we’re so polarised because of social media. So there is that challenge of trying to figure out what to do,” said Stokel-Walker.
“I think putting humans in there checking stuff is always going to be smart, but that costs money. And you still have that issue of what is acceptable content and what isn’t. So I don’t really know how you would come up against that. Social media platforms have been acknowledging this issue, but they’re not necessarily grappling with it as much as they perhaps could have for the last few years.”
Disinformation, propaganda amplified under Musk’s leadership
Changes made to Twitter since Musk took over have arguably amplified disinformation and propaganda on the platform under the guise of free speech.
Trust and safety teams were disbanded, bans on extremist accounts were revoked, and labels indicating association with foreign governments were removed. Twitter’s verification system, once a symbol of authenticity, became monetised under the new subscription service called Twitter Blue, leading to a wave of fake accounts with blue check marks spreading disinformation.
Many users of Twitter Blue, including those echoing Kremlin talking points, have amplified fake news about the Russia-Ukraine war, exploiting the platform’s visibility algorithms to create an illusion of credibility.
Adding to the woes, other changes have further diminished Twitter’s credibility as source of information. In Musk’s first six months as CEO, thousands were laid off, Twitter’s valuation plummeted, and selective “Twitter files” were released, claiming bias against conservative views.
Additionally, a controversial amnesty policy reinstated 62,000 previously banned users, including major accounts with over 1 million followers, who had violated hate speech, harassment, or abuse policies.
“By weight of the regulatory framework governing social media channels, no platform is immune to the spread of misinformation or disinformation across its services. The question should be whether Threads is a greater threat compared to other platforms, and where its audience is more vulnerable,” Stephen King, Senior Lecturer in Media at Middlesex University Dubai, told Arabian Business.
As of 2022, Twitter had approximately 450 million monthly active users. But it is important to note that this number is expected to be lower given the number of changes Musk made to the platform, causing users to leave or move over to former Twitter owner Jack Dorsey’s BlueSky app.
Twitter-killer Threads, on the other hand, is estimated to have just over 100 million users, meaning that by weight of numbers, a misinformation campaign on the platform would have only a third of the impact as on Twitter, King explained.
However, an interesting discussion emerges when you consider Threads plus Meta’s other platforms and how they can leverage data captured on the Twitter copycat app onto other services.
“Is Threads vulnerable for disinformation or misinformation? No more than other platforms that already exist, and potentially less due to its novelty and smaller user base. Also, users of Threads are likely already on other platforms, and are no less vulnerable than in other digital communities. What remains to be discovered is how data captured from Threads allows the targeting of micro audience communities across other Meta services and beyond,” King added.
Hype around Threads creates fertile ground for scammers
Despite over a decade of using social media platforms, user privacy literacy remains quite low, making it particularly worrying since scammers and hackers have become so much more sophisticated in their attacks.
“As companies launch applications to the public, they face the inherent challenge of comprehending all the potential security issues that may arise as users engage with the app. In the next weeks and months, we may see certain capabilities on Threads being misused by attackers, which Meta will have to address,” Nicolai Solling, Chief Technology officer of cybersecurity company Help AG, told Arabian Business.
“We anticipate that Threads may encounter initial challenges in the coming months as cyber attackers attempt to exploit various features of the app. It is impossible to predict security issues with absolute certainty, and even app developers may not be aware of all potential use cases and vulnerabilities.
“Users should be extra careful on Threads over the next few months. Prudent consumers may want to consider waiting until this phase has passed before deciding whether to join the platform.”
The app was launched in most parts of the world, but not the EU, and Meta is yet to make an announcement on when (or whether) it will launch in the bloc.
This raises questions about whether this app was in violation of the EU’s GDPR data privacy regulations.
A source at Meta told The Guardian earlier this month that regulations were behind the app’s launch being postponed amid a series of clashes between both parties. It is understood that the main issue was the implementation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which contains provisions on sharing data across different platforms. As a result, Meta is still waiting for further clarification from the European Commission on how the framework will be implemented before considering the next steps.
When Arabian Business approached Meta to confirm if it would be launching in the EU or not, it declined to respond to request for comment.
Threads replica apps emerge
Capitalising on this opportunity, scammers have created replica apps on unauthorised app stores to trick users into downloading the fake app, resulting in users installing an app with potentially malicious software or putting them in a position where scammers can get access to sensitive information such as credential and login details.
“This has been exacerbated in the case of Threads as the app remains unavailable in the EU. Consequently, some individuals within the EU have turned to unauthorised app stores as a means to gain access to the app, inadvertently putting themselves at risk,” Solling warned.
“Social engineering attacks tend to exploit newsworthy topics that capture the broader society’s interest, and Threads is no exception. Malicious actors weaponise such subjects to manipulate unsuspecting individuals. We’ve seen this with topics and events including COVID-19, cryptocurrency, Black Friday, and now Threads.”
He suggested that consumers prioritise being “cyber smart, just as they would on any other platform.”
“It is crucial to understand that if a product is free, the users themselves often becomes the product. With this in mind, users should exercise caution when deciding to use a new app, such as Threads.”
With this in mind, being vigilant about attackers’ tactics is crucial. Scammers often manipulate users into performing actions for them, like interacting with suspicious links, downloading attachments, or sharing login credentials. Solling suggests that to avoid such risks, users must refrain from downloading attachments or opening links from unknown senders and always verify the sender’s identity and the legitimacy of apps or websites before entering any credentials.
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