Threads backtracks flagging right-wing users for spreading disinformation
If you regularly spread “false information” online, Threads already knows. The platform apparently flagged those accounts on launch, warning users that considered following them, before backtracking.
When Threads launched on Wednesday, numerous right-wing users shared their dissatisfaction with Twitter’s biggest competitor — on Twitter of course — over having their accounts flagged for disinformation.
As of Friday, however, it seems the warning label on accounts that reported the issue has since disappeared.
“This account has repeatedly posted false information that was reviewed by independent fact-checkers or went against our Community Guidelines,” read the label that would pop up when another user attempted follow these accounts.
The wording on the label is similar to a warning prompt that appears on Meta services like Facebook and Instagram. As Threads is so new and still so tightly connected to Instagram, it appears Meta used an account’s existing reputation to inform Threads users of their history.
“Threads has censorship baked into the app,” tweeted right-wing social media personality Ian Miles Cheong. “It is not a free speech platform.”
Users that reported the warning appearing on their accounts include conservative influencers like DC Draino, Brandon Tatum, and even former President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
However, according to Meta, at least one of those users were falsely flagged by Threads’ internal systems.
“This was an error and shouldn’t have happened,” said Meta’s Andy Stone on Twitter, replying to Donald Trump’s Jr.’s tweet about the label being placed on his Threads account. “It’s been fixed.”
Mashable tested it by following each of these flagged accounts on Threads, including other prominent right-wing influencers on the platform, on Friday. We could not replicate the issue. Threads allowed us to follow each immediately, without any warning label.
Mashable has reached out to Meta for more clarity on the label and whether it’s still being utilized. We will update this piece when we hear back.
Regardless of how these affected users feel, Meta has already amassed around 70 million users in a little over 24 hours, providing Twitter with its strongest competition yet.
