Featured Image Credit: Apex MediaWire / Xinhua / Alamy
Topics: Technology, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter, Facebook
Emily Brown
Topics: Technology, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter, Facebook
Elon Musk has announced he's 'up for a cage match' with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg amid reports that he's working on an app to rival Twitter.
Musk joined Zuckerberg in being the owner of a popular social media platform when he officially bought Twitter in October 2022, but things haven't been all smooth sailing for Musk since then.
The founder has made a lot of changes on the platform, bringing in a 'For You' feed on the homepage and taking away blue verification ticks for users who refused to pay for them, and as a result he's lost a lot of support around the app.
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After co-founding Facebook and continuing to develop under its parent-company Meta, Zuckerberg now looks to be taking advantage of the internet users who are shirking with Twitter.
Reports have been emerging recently of Meta's so-called 'Project 92', with The Telegraph reporting that chief product officer Chris Cox discussed the app at a Meta meeting last week as he unveiled what he called 'our response to Twitter'.
Screenshots indicate the app, which is expected to be called Threads, will deliver its content in a continuous scroll of text, like Twitter, as well as featuring buttons similar to the 'like' and 'retweet' functions.
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Reports emerging about the new app prompted Twitter user Mario Nawfal to share the news on the platform, writing: "META to Release 'Twitter Rival' Called THREADS (not making this up!).
"META, the same company that copied Snapchat, TikTok, StumbleUpon, Foursquare, BeReal and Clubhouse, began coding 'Project 92’ three months after Elon acquired Twitter."
Nawfal also quoted Cox, saying: "Cox threw shade at @elonmusk's Twitter by claiming Meta’s 'been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run'."
The news caught Musk's attention, prompting him to reply: "I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options. At least it will be 'sane'. Was worried there for a moment."
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Musk's acknowledgement of the development of the app led some to wonder whether the two owners would go toe-to-toe - or fist-to-fist - for their stake in the social media world, with one joking: "Better be careful @elonmusk I heard he does the jiu jitsu now."
Zuckerberg does indeed do jiu-jitsu, but Musk isn't worried.
He responded: "I’m up for a cage match if he is lol."
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Only time will tell whether Zuckerberg's creation proves to be a good competitor for Musk's, but if it is, I guess we might have to prepare to see the pair face off in the cage.