Threads, after nearly a year since its less-than-stellar launch, has been gaining some recognition, while X (formerly Twitter) is running into controversies one after another under Elon Musk's ownership.
The two social media platforms have been compared to death during Thread's initial launch, but not much in recent times as both sites try to become the "everything app."
With all the changes and policy revisions that happened over the past months, it is now time to see which social media truly has the better ecosystem.
Bots Running Rampant
If there is one thing notable in Musk's acquisition of Twitter aside from more paid services, it would be the bots and fake accounts becoming more noticeable across all posts.
Musk's decision to make verified check marks as paid subscriptions only boosted bot accounts and trolls to a wider audience as Premium users are guaranteed to have their posts and replies have more visibility than non-premium users.
Now, there is a growing community of X users deploying hundreds, if not thousands of bots, across all popular posts to gain engagements and earn from the platform's monetization program.
Oftentimes, these bot accounts interact with other bot accounts farming engagements through artificial views, creating what other people might refer to as the "Dead Internet Theory."
It is not to say that Meta's platforms are fully free from bot accounts and trolls, it is just that they are not as easily visible as those on X do.
Political Content
Despite the deluge of bots on its platform, X can be considered the more viable option to look for political content than Meta's. At least the best option after TikTok.
Although both platforms have been noted to employ some kind of censorship, users enjoy more freedom to express political opinions on X than on Threads.
Several watchdogs have criticized Meta for censoring pro-Palestine posts on Facebook and Instagram. The same issues can be seen on Threads as the social media giant announced to start recommending less political content to its users.
With many people relying on these platforms to stay informed ahead of the US 2024 Elections, both Threads and X serve an important role in fighting political misinformation among voters.
This problem, however, remains prevalent in online spaces.
Related Article : Instagram, Threads to Reduce Recommending Political Content
Accessibility Features
AS for its accessibility and user culture cultivated, Threads has started adapting more Twitter-like features to encourage users disgruntled about the changes on X to transition to a new platform.
Just recently, Threads has launched a Trending Topics search on its platform to help users keep up with the viral trends of the moment.
X, on the other hand, has been notably improving its video-sharing functions as it tries to appeal to streamers, content creators, and vloggers to move towards X.
Many of X's new features, however, are locked behind subscription plans or invitation-only services.
