In a bid to diversify its social media offerings, Meta has unveiled its intentions to develop a text-based social network that would directly compete with Twitter.
The proposed social network, currently referred to as P92, is expected to enable users to follow accounts they already engage with on Instagram, Meta's popular image-sharing platform. Additionally, Meta is exploring the possibility of allowing users to migrate their followers from decentralized platforms like Mastodon.
A Meta spokesperson has confirmed the development of this separate, decentralized social network focused on sharing text updates. Meta's Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox, has indicated that coding is already in progress for the platform, with the company aiming for a forthcoming release. Although no specific date has been provided, speculation suggests that the launch could occur as early as the end of June.
Leaked screenshots of the internal presentation, which have surfaced online, seem to corroborate the authenticity of the information. If accurate, the layout of the new platform appears to be reminiscent of Twitter, making it a potentially formidable competitor to Elon Musk's presence on the platform, as well as to other alternatives such as BlueSky and Mastodon.
Rebuilding a community from scratch on a new social network is challenging, but Meta's advantage lies in the vast user base of Instagram, which boasts around two billion users, dwarfing the estimated 300 million users of Twitter (although Twitter's figures can no longer be independently verified). Even if only 25% of Instagram users can be enticed to adopt P92, it would instantly surpass Twitter in terms of user base.
Meta acknowledges drawing inspiration from other successful products, although critics may argue otherwise. Facebook's "Stories" feature was influenced by Snapchat, and Instagram's "Reels" bears a striking resemblance to TikTok.
Twitter has faced scrutiny in recent months over content moderation issues, leading to its withdrawal from the EU's voluntary disinformation code in May. Under Elon Musk's leadership, Twitter's moderation practices reportedly became more relaxed, resulting in an increase in the spread of disinformation.
