Twitter or Threads? Egypt's activists join but not sold on Meta's idea yet

Mahmoud Salem

Jul 15, 2023

This photo illustration created in Washington, DC, on July 5, 2023, shows the Twitter logo reflected near the logo for Threads, an Instagram app. — STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

For many Egyptian activists, Twitter has felt like home since the Arab Spring which began in 2011 with millions taking to the streets in Cairo and Tunis to depose authoritarian leaders. Twitter's golden moment and rise to prominence is inherently tied to activism and news sharing at the time, with the Arab Spring specifically exploding its potential for awareness, organization, and political action.

However, the recent troubles at Twitter and the emergence of Meta's Threads raises the question: will it replace Twitter as a tool for activism and organization?

Zuckerberg-Musk feud

The feud between Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been escalating in the last few weeks before the launch of Threads. The tension between the two billionaires of rival social media giants has taken an unusual turn with talk of a UFC-style cage fight. While the physical fight may not happen, the war of words between the two has continued as Threads registered over 70 million accounts in one day — almost a quarter of Twitter's total.