Meta begins testing ads on Threads amid controversy over content moderation

“We’re starting a small test for ads on Threads with a handful of brands in the US and Japan,” Instagram and Threads chief Adam Mosseri said.

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He mentioned that his team would carefully track feedback to ensure “they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting.”

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Threads was launched in 2023, a few months after X(formerly known as Twitter) was acquired by Musk, and users were boycotting the latter platform due to additions such as paid subscriptions and reduced content moderation.

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Meta’s revenue is dependent on ads on all its free platforms, with Threads the only one remaining to be tapped.

Meta’s content moderation overhaul

The decision to begin testing ads on Meta comes amidst increased scrutiny on the company due to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end the company’s US fact-checking program—an important tool in combating online misinformation.

Zuckerberg also announced that Meta will ease content moderation policies to permit more controversial speech, similar to X’s approach.

“The launch of Threads ads just weeks after Meta’s content moderation makeover will raise advertiser eyebrows,” Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg told Bloomberg.

“But the volatility at TikTok is spurring brands to seek alternatives, and Meta isn’t going to pass up an opportunity to throw Threads into the mix,” he added.

Meta’s shift in policy was seen as an attempt to win favour with the Trump administration, whose support base has been arguing that third-party fact-checking on tech platforms stifles free speech and censors right-wing content.