With Musk’s X under fire, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris join Threads
text_fields
Washington: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris joined Instagram Threads, Meta's social media rival to Elon Musk's X, on Monday, just days after the White House stated that Musk’s sharing of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X was “unacceptable”.
"Folks, it's President Biden," Biden’s official US president’s account posted on Monday, on his 81st birthday.
“You’re hearing from me today from a new platform, but my message to you hasn’t changed: Right now, we face an inflection point – one of those challenging moments in history where the decisions we make today will determine decades to come,” the president said on Mark Zuckerberg-run platform.
“But I don't see a dark, dismal, divided future for America. I see an America about to take off. I'll continue doing everything in my power to meet this moment – and keep you posted along the way,” Biden added.
Within an hour of joining threads, Biden’s profile garnered over two million followers.
Also Read:Microsoft hires sacked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to lead its advanced AI team
The White House also joined Threads, and posted: “The wait is Joe-ver.” US Vice President Kamala Harris also joined Threads, saying she looks forward to connecting with people on a new platform.
The White House confirmed it had launched Threads accounts for the president, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, her husband Douglas Emhoff and the White House itself in English and Spanish.
“Since taking office, I have travelled to 34 states to speak directly with the American people, including tens of thousands of young leaders. I have also met with over 100 world leaders: presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings,” Harris posted.
“I appreciate a candid dialogue about issues that are important to you, and I look forward to continuing the conversation here on Threads,” Harris added.
The arrival of Biden, Harris and The White House could boost Threads’ legitimacy as the platform becomes a more viable alternative to X, formerly Twitter.
X is under fire for its failure to moderate content. The platform is embroiled in a controversy over Musk endorsing a post falsely asserting that Jewish people “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them”.
Musk immediately faced backlash for sharing the post at a time when the Jewish people were also facing an increasing amount of hostility following the Israel-Hamas which began on 7 October.
Several big names including Apple, Disney, Discovery, Warner Bros, and Paramount Global have also paused their ads on X after the controversy.
With inputs from agencies