As global newsrooms like Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, and Legit.ng experiment with Threads, they are discovering fresh potential in this budding social media platform

On July 6, Meta launched Threads, a Twitter competitor, which saw a remarkable 97 million users register within its first week of launch, an unprecedented achievement for any app.

Threads is closely integrated with Instagram and relies on its social graph, but it’s centred around text content. Users can compose posts up to 500 characters in length on Threads, augmented by photos and videos up to five minutes long. An algorithmic feed blends posts from accounts the user follows with content suggested by the platform; unlike Twitter, Threads doesn’t allow switching between algorithmic and chronologically-arranged feeds at the moment.

The platform is still nascent, lacking many core features, as well as ads. Notably, it’s not yet accessible in the European Union because of Meta’s worries about upcoming tech regulations. Yet, some news outlets are already experimenting with their presence on the platform, looking to capitalise on its meteoric rise.

The Fix asked three media outlets that have registered on the app about their initial impressions and plans for this new platform.

We talked to:

  • The Kyiv Independent – an English-language Ukrainian media outlet created by journalists in 2021. During the war, the team raised over 2 million euro in donations on GoFundMe and gathered over 9k subscribers on Patreon. They have 20k followers on Threads. (Editor’s note: disclosure – several of The Fix’s co-founders are currently senior executives at The Kyiv Independent).
  • Ukrainska Pravda – ​​Kyiv-based independent news site, the first digital media in Ukraine founded in 2000. This is one of the most visited news websites in Ukraine, according to SimilarWeb. They gained close to 8k followers on Threads.
  • Legit Media Group – the media holding behind leading digital news and entertainment companies in Nigeria (Legit.ng), Kenya (TUKO.co.ke), Ghana (YEN.com.gh), and South Africa (Briefly News). Just 1 day after registration they had 30K+ followers in Nigeria (Legit.ng) and 70K+ on all projects.

How newsrooms use Threads

The Kyiv Independent’s Head of Social Media Alexandra Keeler told The Fix how Threads is being integrated into their daily operations. “We are using Threads for daily live news updates, similar to how we currently use Twitter and Telegram, and as a promotional vehicle for our products,” she says. 

They will be looking to experiment on the platform in the coming weeks. For now, they appreciate the 500-character allowance and the ability to post more visuals compared to Twitter (i.e. 10-slide carousels). Since the audience sentiment thus far has been positive, with users engaged and constructive, the team also plans to work on community management more actively, entering into more dialogue with the audience.

The platform appears to have struck a chord with users looking for an alternative to Twitter. “We can see that the early adopters are more or less fed up with what that platform [Twitter] has become since Musk’s takeover,” Keeler continues. 

Lesia Kozachevska, Media Project Manager at Legit Media Group, which manages Legit.ng, the biggest and most popular Nigerian news website, called Threads an “unexpected present from Meta.” She shared how Threads brought “new hope for a decent future for textual content on social media platforms.”

Legit.ng have started experimenting with different content-sharing strategies. “For now, we try sharing links to our most engaging articles and exclusive content, sharing our Reels, and, of course, interacting with the audience by asking them questions and responding to theirs. So it’s the mix of Instagram and Twitter strategies – we’ll see which one will prevail,” she added.

Alina Poliakova, Managing Editor of the English version of Ukrainska Pravda, said that Threads is an avenue for sharing crucial news, in-depth articles, photos, and memes. “In the comments to the post of the Ukrainian account, when we asked what people would like to read, most answers were – content in English. Therefore, I think we will focus on promoting English-language content,” she stated.

Why you should follow newsrooms on Threads

Keeler from The Kyiv Independent sees Threads as an opportunity to extend and enrich their audience interactions. “Threads is being marketed as a ‘companion to Instagram’, as a venue for public discourse. Unlike our Instagram content, which is designed to be more visual and fit for passive consumption, our Threads stories will provide information more directly, nestled within the broader context of our other news updates,” she explained. Thus, by following them on Threads, users can engage more proactively with the news, experiencing it as an ongoing narrative rather than isolated updates.

Poliakova from Ukrainska Pravda is also optimistic about the potential of Threads, especially considering the platform’s quick adoption rate. “Within the first seven hours of Threads’ existence, it attracted 10 million users. We see a good portion of these as our potential target audience, so we will be experimenting to see which content and formats work best,” she stated.

Poliakova suggests subscribing to them on Threads as a contingency plan, in a somewhat jesting reference to concerns about the future of Twitter under Elon Musk’s leadership. “Why should users follow us? Just in case Elon Musk ends up ruining Twitter, they’ll have somewhere to go.” This comment reflects an awareness of Threads’ potential as an alternative platform, especially if dissatisfaction with Twitter continues to rise.

Kozachevska from Legit.ng shared feedback from their subscribers on Threads. 

First impressions from newsroom managers

Keeler of The Kyiv Independent shares positive initial experience on Threads. “Our second post was a major announcement about the premiere of our upcoming documentary, ‘Uprooted’, which introduces our war crimes [investigation] unit for the first time. Now we are publishing at the same frequency as our Twitter feed,” she says. Thus far, the only challenge they’ve faced with Threads is ensuring they have data measurement in place to catch the impact signals of this platform adoption and ensuring all of the journalists are set on the platform. 

Meanwhile, Poliakova from Ukrainska Pravda anticipates the potential issues that might arise with content sensitivities on Threads. “We are well aware that the level of censorship on Threads will be the same as Facebook and Instagram. Considering that our content is primarily about the war, the platform might perceive it as sensitive. We haven’t encountered this yet, but we’ve seen screenshots of warnings from other users. This significantly sets the platform apart from Twitter, at least before Elon Musk’s era,” she said.

For Kozachevska from Legit Media Group, Threads has proven itself to be a powerful platform almost immediately.

Threads has tremendous potential – just one day after registration we had 30K+ followers in Nigeria and 70K+ on all our projects with minimal effort

Lesia Kozachevska, Media Project Manager at Legit Media Group

“It allows us to diversify our traffic sources and serve the interests of our Instagram audience more effectively by enabling them to easily access links to our content without any extra resources,” she explained, adding that so far, their experience with Threads has been very positive.

Twitter versus Threads: a coexistence, not a competition

Despite the rising popularity of Threads, currently newsrooms do not see it as a replacement for Twitter but rather as a new complement to their social media strategies.

The Kyiv Independent’s Keeler emphasises that they don’t see Threads detracting from their Twitter presence. “They will coexist in our social media matrix. We’ve seen considerable growth on Instagram over the past few months after fine-tuning our strategy, and we’ve been thrilled with the pace and magnitude of our growth on Threads. We’re hopeful that this new platform can help us broaden our social footprint, increase website traffic, and continue to ensure English-speaking audiences get the truth about Ukraine,” she says.

On a similar note, Poliakova shares that their approach to Threads will be different from their Twitter strategy. “There will be fewer posts. To describe our current approach in two words, it would be ‘brief and essential.’ However, we’re considering writing longer threads, as the platform’s name implies. Starting today, we’ll run Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky concurrently. May the best platform win,” she said. The news outlet has been engaging with its audience on various topics, including daily news and memes about Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Legit Media Group’s Kozachevska acknowledges the significant Twitter following of their media entities. “Our Twitter audience is quite large – over 1 million in Nigeria, a little less in other countries. So we will definitely not leave the platform. While we’ll likely use both platforms simultaneously, we might consider splitting the topics: politics, business, and social issues on Twitter, and entertainment and human-interest stories on Threads,” she says. 

Kozachevska also notes the importance of remembering that Threads is still connected to Instagram, which may influence audience behaviour and preferences. They use Threads for a variety of content types, including photo news, links to trending articles, short videos, polls, and reposts from influencers or public figures.

Source of the cover photo: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

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