Credit: Inside the MagicIt’s the battle of the tech billionaires as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg prepares to go to war with Tesla CEO and social media juggernaut Elon Musk now that Meta’s brand new app, Threads, has officially hit the market. And it looks like even Disney is choosing sides, with two of its biggest brands having just transitioned away from Twitter.
It’s been a weird year for the tech industry, with Dogecoin investor and unfortunate internet phenomenon Elon Musk’s takeover of the popular social media app Twitter in late 2022 sending waves through the internet. Musk’s controversial past, laden with sketchy business deals and problematic tweets, was enough to drive celebrities and other longtime users away from the app after he officially took over as Twitter’s CEO, subsequently firing the majority of its staff in his first few days.
The problems only worsened as Musk introduced “Twitter Blue,” a verification subscription where users could pay $8/month or $84/year to have a blue checkmark next to their usernames. After being scrutinized for this, frankly, ridiculous “verification” system, his handling of Twitter received even more backlash for sending a company-wide email that demanded they work “long hours at high intensity” or receive “three months of severance” if they did not support his vision for “Twitter 2.0.”
Enter Mark Zuckerberg, who may or may not fight Musk in a battle of the billionaires after the latter challenged him to a cage match on Twitter last month. Zuckerberg, best known for founding Facebook and, more recently, the mega-powerful media conglomerate Meta, has been in a nearly seven-year-long feud with Musk, and it looks like he’s just thrown his next punch: launching his Twitter competitor, Threads.
“Threads, an Instagram app,” advertises itself as a text-based conversation app, offering billions of users a much-needed alternative to Twitter amid their growing frustrations with the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. Initially, Threads was scheduled to release at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on July 6, but on Wednesday, Meta pushed forward its countdown clock to 7 p.m. Eastern Time on July 5.
Musk already took to Twitter to share his snarky response to Threads, where he took a not-so-subtle jab at Mark Zuckerberg and Meta’s staff, writing, “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run:”
Thank goodness they’re so sanely run
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 4, 2023
Now, amid growing tensions between Twitter and, well, nearly everyone, it looks like even the House of Mouse is electing to ditch the Elon Musk-owned service in favor of Threads.
On Wednesday evening, shortly after Threads went live on the app market, two of Disney’s most popular subsidiaries took to their Instagram stories to promote their new Threads accounts: Star Wars and Marvel, the former of which Musk has had strong opinions about in the past. Each brand had a tongue-in-cheek quip to accompany their announcements, quoting two of their most famous movie moments.
Marvel Studios gave a nod to Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans), with their debut post reading “I can do this all day,” while Star Wars took the high ground with an endlessly quotable Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) line, “This is where the fun begins:”
So, does this mean Disney is officially joining Mark Zuckerberg and Meta as they wage war against Elon Musk’s Twitter? Maybe. And there might be good evidence to back up why.
For one, the official Disneyland Paris Twitter account (@DisneyParis_EN) announced that they would cut communications with users last month, effectively closing the door to the more than 353.9 million active users on the site.
⚠️Please note that this account will cease replying to public and private messages as of 1st July 2023.
You can still reach out to our Customer Service via:
➡️Our website, in the “Help & Contact” section
➡️Facebook Messenger
➡️Instagram DirectSee you real soon!
— Disneyland Paris EN (@DisneyParis_EN) June 21, 2023
On the other hand, Twitter might’ve accidentally ticked off Disney after a zero-notice temporary limit on viewing tweets was implemented by Musk over the weekend, which reportedly put an abrupt stop to Lucasfilm’s plans to unveil new footage from their upcoming Disney+ Ahsoka show during the studio’s virtual showcase at ESSENCE Fest Primetime.
This incident might point to why Marvel and Star Wars were so vocal about their move to Threads, which is understandable considering Musk has several more controversial changes in store for Twitter users—especially for “non-verified” accounts, who might only be able to view six hundred tweets per day under these new rules.
For now, Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney’s other official accounts have yet to deactivate their Twitter pages, and it’s unlikely they’ll do so until Musk does something very, very wrong—which, truthfully, seems inevitable. It’ll be interesting to see if Threads picks up any traction and if recognizable brands like Star Wars and Marvel joining will help draw in new users.
Or maybe, Threads just won’t be able to capture the same traffic as a site as reputable and well-established as Twitter—even with Musk at the helm.
Have you joined Threads yet? Do you plan to? Share your thoughts on this new social media service in the comments below.