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Instagram\u2019s new Threads app is \u201cnot going to do anything to encourage\u201d politics and \u201chard news,\u201d Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said in a Threads conversation<\/a> with The Verge\u2019s<\/em> Alex Heath. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The additional scrutiny, negativity, and integrity risks that come with politics and hard news aren\u2019t worth the \u201cincremental engagement or revenue,\u201d Mosseri wrote. \u201cThere are more than enough amazing communities \u2014 sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc. \u2014 to make a vibrant platform without needing to get into politics or hard news.\u201d (Mosseri\u2019s strong point of view here is likely informed by his time running Facebook\u2019s News Feed<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In recent years, Meta has distanced itself from news and politics, including reducing the amount of political content<\/a> that users see on Facebook. It even dropped \u201cNews\u201d from the name of the Facebook Feed last year<\/a>. The company also responded to a new Canadian law that would require it to pay for local news by saying it will yank news<\/a> from Facebook and Instagram in the country. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The goal isn\u2019t to replace Twitter. The goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Still, it seems inevitable that politics and news will trickle onto Threads in some way, especially if politicians and journalists use the platform during the 2024 presidential election cycle. And Instagram is working on a feed just for people you follow<\/a> and a chronological feed<\/a>, which, at least for me, should make Threads a much more useful place to find news. But it sounds like Instagram won\u2019t be going out of its way to make Threads what Twitter once was \u2014 so don\u2019t get your hopes up for some kind of Thread-Deck<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n