Meta considers launching potential Twitter rival

Social media giant Meta has announced it is working on a new "text sharing" platform, likely believed to rival Twitter, at a time when the latter faces unprecedented hiccups.

Meta, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp, confirmed in a statement late on Friday reports that it was starting work on the platform. It said it was "exploring a standalone, decentralized social network for sharing text updates."

"We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," the statement added.

What do we know about the new platform?

The new Meta platform is designed to allow interoperation with other platforms including Mastodon, a decentralized social media platform that runs slightly similarly to Twitter. This would give users the ability to broadcast posts on other networks.

The feature is not available on Twitter. Last December, the platform's new owner Elon Musk briefly banned Twitter accounts which provided links to other social media platforms.

Other platforms such as Instagram and YouTube also don't allow such interoperation, as they are designed with strict technological walls.

In 2021, after a whistleblower accused the Facebook parent company of being aware of the harm its platform was causing users, it rebranded as Meta. Founder Mark Zuckerberg launched the so-called metaverse— a hypothetical 3D network based on virtual and augmented reality that has, since then, failed to live up to its promised success.

Where does Twitter stand?

While Twitter and Meta's original platform Facebook have been longtime rivals, Meta's decision to launch a "text sharing app" comes at a time of unprecedented upheaval for Twitter.

Since billionaire Musk took over the company last October, the platform has suffered outages, layoffs and an exodus of advertisers.

Twitter is now said to be operating on skeletal staff after mass layoffs and some walkouts that saw the company lose around two-thirds of its workforce. Recurring glitches are often blamed on said layoffs.