Meta’s vision for Threads is more mega-mall than public square

In the latest sign that Meta’s new Twitter lookalike Threads is unlikely to capture the essence of its predecessor, the company is apparently actively disinterested in cultivating its new app into a useful hub of breaking news and world events.

In a reply to a question from The Verge’s Alex Heath, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, currently the default hype guy for Threads too, said that Meta’s goal isn’t to replace Twitter, but rather “to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter.”

He continued:

“Politics and hard news are important, I don’t want to imply otherwise. But my take is, from a platform’s perspective, any incremental engagement or revenue they might drive is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest), or integrity risks that come along with them.

There are more than enough amazing communities – sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc –…