Mr Cox reportedly said that Meta was in talks with Oprah Winfrey
Meta is all set to introduce a new standalone app in response to Twitter. The app, internally codenamed Project 92, is being launched via Instagram. The forthcoming app was demoed at a company-wide meeting led by Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, who called the project “our response to Twitter.” The edge reported. The public name of the app can be Threads.
The new app allows users to take their accounts and followers to other apps that support ActivityPub, including Mastodon. Meta tested the new app with celebrities and influencers and gave employees a sneak peek this week.
“We have heard from creators and public figures interested in a platform that is managed in a healthy way that they believe they can trust and rely on for distribution,” said Mr Cox, in a clear reference to the management of Twitter under Elon Musk.
He said the company’s goal for the app was “security, ease of use, reliability” and for creators to have a “stable place to build and grow their audience.”
Mr Cox reportedly said Meta was in talks with Oprah Winfrey, who has more than 42 million followers on Twitter, and the Dalai Lama, who has nearly 19 million, to be potential users, adding that coding for the app started in January and it would be made available “as soon as we can”.
Screenshots of the app acquired by The Verge show a mobile app with a look and feel similar to Twitter, with verified users, like and reshare buttons, and a message option.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk also commented on Meta’s plans to launch Project 92. He wrote, “Zuck my tongue,” he made the tweet in response to a link that reported that Meta had been trying to get hold of the Dalia Lama.