Campaigns target dethroning Twitter by building momentum from a five‑day launch. The new social network Threads has already surpassed 100 million users. This milestone was confirmed this Monday by Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of the tech company, signaling that Threads may be the fastest growing app in history, even edging past numbers associated with ChatGPT in its early days, according to early admiration from users.
The company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp announced last Wednesday the rollout of Threads, an app that operates in many ways like Twitter. Zuckerberg noted that the surge was largely organic and that promotions had not been widely activated yet. In a post celebrating the milestone he said the launch far exceeded expectations on the following day.
In less than a week, Threads has captivated celebrities, politicians and media figures who have helped propel this new phenomenon. If the reported data hold true, Meta’s Twitter clone would outpace the growth record set by ChatGPT, which gained traction after its release and reached 100,000 registered users in about two months. Analysts also observe strong early interest from high‑profile figures in tech and culture, which may contribute to ongoing momentum, as reported by industry observers.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, explained that he prefers to avoid leaning into hard news coverage. The situation contrasts with what Meta presents publicly in communications. Recently, US politicians including several presidential hopefuls in the 2024 cycle joined Threads, among others who submitted their candidacies. Reports from watchdog groups indicate some public figures from various political spectrums joined Threads to test content moderation and topic controls.
Threat to Twitter
Experts have begun debating whether Threads could become the first major challenge to Twitter since the platform’s popularity shifted after a leadership change last year. Changes introduced in recent months, such as a paid verification feature, drew criticism from some users who migrated to alternative platforms. Competitors like Mastodon and other new networks gained attention as users explored better moderation and different revenue models.
Twitter’s owner announced that the platform has around 260 million monetizable daily active users. Yet industry observers note a potential stagnation or decline in certain metrics. The network services company Cloudflare has noted a downturn in overall traffic for Twitter, a trend discussed in industry analyses. In a related discussion, the evolving nature of social platforms continues to influence user behavior and engagement patterns.
The feature set on some new platforms remains incomplete: direct messaging, desktop access, hashtags and robust search tools are still developing. Monetization plans at Threads were initially cautious, with executives signaling a focus on user growth before pursuing advertising models on a significant scale. Observers suggest that the broader business strategy for Meta will weigh user scale against the costs and opportunities of monetization as the company seeks to reach a substantial global audience.
Meanwhile, tensions persist between Meta and Twitter over allegations of trade secret infringement and other competitive disputes. Public discussions included a post by Meta executives humorously referencing rival leaders, illustrating the high‑stakes dynamics of the social media arena and the ongoing race to define the next standard for online conversation.