Meta poised to launch rival to Twitter

$Meta Platforms (META.US)$ is expected to launch its own rival to $Twitter (Delisted) (TWTR.US)$ as soon as Thursday in a move that threatens Elon Musk’s group as he faces a backlash from users over his management of the social media platform.
Meta’s new app, called Threads, is “expected July 6”, according to a listing on the Apple App Store. Similar to Twitter, it will be a text-based platform on which users can publish posts that can be replied to, liked or shared.
Threads will be directly linked to Instagram, Meta’s popular photo-sharing platform, with users able to easily port their username and followers to the new app. “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” read the App Store description.
It is unclear what the exact scope of the rollout will be or whether the app will also be launched on Android.
Meta’s new release represents a direct challenge to Twitter and comes as many users have sought alternatives to the Musk-owned platform since he bought it for $44bn in October. Some users and advertisers have protested against or fled Twitter over Musk’s more relaxed approach to content moderation and his decision to introduce disruptive tweaks to the product.