Threads, the new pro-censorship social media app from Facebook’s parent company Meta, is being hit with complaints from anti-free speech activists that it isn’t doing enough to censor so-called “disinformation.” Meta recently launched Threads as a pro-censorship rival to Elon Musk’s pro-free speech Twitter.
Despite an initial boost on its launch, Threads has tanked in daily users amid complaints of negative experiences.
The platform now appears to be used by a handful of leftists who have taken issue with Musk’s free speech agenda on Twitter.
However, despite the authoritarian restrictions on Threads, pro-censorship activists are demanding that Meta does more to crack down on the free speech of its remaining users.
With the next U.S. presidential election now less than a year and a half away, various groups and power centers are pressuring social media companies to behave exactly as they expect.
Pressure is coming in various forms of subtle and not-so-subtle demands for even more censorship.
Vote.org is a non-profit that says it is using technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and “strengthen American democracy.”
The organization is already critical of the “quality” of censorship on Threads.
Once again, it’s “disinformation” – information they don’t like – that is allegedly the problem for the likes of Vote.org.
In a conversation on NPR, Threads is said to already have millions of users.
However, Meta has yet to “outline” how it intends to crack down on so-called “election misinformation.”
As we’ve repeatedly seen, “election misinformation” typically refers to questioning the results when Democrats win.
According to NPR, certain voting rights groups are now concerned about Meta’s plans for censoring “election misinformation.”
And they didn’t waste any time in demanding increased censorship.
Just a couple of days after Threads rolled out, the platform received a letter from Vote.org, seeking to make sure it toes the line regarding “election misinformation.”
The censorship of election criticisms is likely something they can expect from Twitter, however.
Twitter has released a large number of internal documents showing how the government/Big Tech colluded to censor speech under the guise of fighting all sorts of “misinformation.”
Hence the need to create Threads, in a bid to minimize Twitter’s influence in the coming election.
But what more do the “voting rights” groups want?
Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey told NPR that they expect to see “a real plan” from Threads.
This censorship plan aims to ensure that first presidential primaries, and then the election, go to plan.
Of particular concern, is “disinformation” about voter registration and polling stations.
And Vote.org and others like it want Threads to have very clear rules about suppressing posts that address these issues in a manner they disapprove of.
Meta has not yet responded to Vote.org, but the Big Tech giant told NPR that the anti-free speech rules in place on Facebook also apply to Threads.