Mark Zuckerberg’s newest social media platform now has a very high profile user: President Obama.
After Elon endorsed a racist conspiracy theory on X (his social media platform formerly called Twitter), the White House criticized Musk’s actions. “unacceptable” comments.
“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a Statement Friday is a holiday.
Biden, who is the closest competitor to X, joined Threads, Musk’s most vocal critic, on Monday.
“Folks, it’s President Biden,” The official @POTUS Twitter account Published: Threads’ first post, published on November 20, is a great place to start. “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. 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.
The White House has not given any official reason as to why Biden has chosen now to join Threads, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and closely integrated with Instagram. Threads launched in July and gained 100 million users in just a matter of days as social media aficionados looked for a Musk-less Twitter alternative. The platform has struggled to keep all those users active but has continued to grow with a dedicated userbase in the tens of millions.
However, the timing is interesting. Major advertisers have fled X in recent days, following the blowback from Musk’s comments surrounding the antisemitic conspiracy theory that he promoted. Also, polls have shown Biden lagging behind Donald Trump among key demographics as we head into the 2024 presidential election season. One of Biden’s biggest challenges has been his support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza against Hamas, which many groups such as young voters and the Democratic base disagree with.
It doesn’t look like the White House was successful in its calculations to have Biden join Threads. In just minutes after Biden posted his first thread, users were already posting ceasefires and demanding that Biden stop. “Free Palestine” And other words to support the Palestinian people