Could Meta provide competition for Twitter?

Looks like Meta is about to unveil what might be competition to Twitter, and the timing could not be better.

It was another chaotic weekend for Twitter, just the latest turmoil under owner Elon Musk. The most recent mess involved users being told that there were limits to how many tweets they would be able to read. This all started last weekend when some Twitter users were met with an error message saying their rate limit had been exceeded. Musk said it’s temporary.

He tweeted on Saturday:

To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:

- Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day

- Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day

- New unverified accounts to 300/day

After pushback, Musk upped those numbers, then upped them again to 10,000, 1,000 and 500.

But by then, Twitter was caught up in another public relations mess. On Monday, Twitter announced its TweetDeck tool, which allows users to look at several accounts at once, would be limited to verified accounts starting next month.

While Musk and Twitter were sending off their usual poop emojis to media requests about the latest news, Meta and its owner Mark Zuckerberg had some news that has social media users intrigued, if not cautiously optimistic.

Instagram, which is owned by Meta, is teasing something called Threads. It has a countdown page indicating it will be released on Thursday. On the Apple App Store, Threads is being called “Instagram’s text-based conversation app.” It also said, “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow.”

In other words, the descriptions make it sound kind of like, well, Twitter.

So while Musk and Zuckerberg have been teasing about actually fighting one another in a boxing-type ring, the two could be headed to another, much more compelling and meaningful battle in the social media world.

Despite its flaws and the unpredictability of Musk, Twitter remains a powerhouse, and it’s difficult to see it being replaced. But if there’s anyone or anything that could provide serious competition to Twitter, it’s Meta and Zuckerberg.

As The Washington Post’s Leo Sands wrote, “Meta is no stranger to launching its own versions of innovations pioneered by rival apps — often with success. In 2016, Instagram copied Snapchat’s disappearing-photo feature, launching Stories, an offering that has since become integral to its user experience. Four years later, Instagram unveiled Reels, allowing users to create and share short-form vertical videos, just like TikTok.”

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A possible deal

During a briefing Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Kremlin hinted Russia has been in contact with the United States about a possible prisoner swap. The belief is it could involve Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed since March on charges of espionage. The U.S. and the Journal deny the charges and the U.S. considers Gershkovich “wrongfully detained.”

The Russian spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, was asked about a potential prisoner swap on Tuesday and said, “There are certain contacts in this regard, but we do not want to make them public in any way. They must continue in complete silence.”

Peskov’s comments came a day after the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, met with Gershkovich at a Moscow prison. It’s the first time since mid-April that an American diplomatic official had been able to meet with Gershkovich. Tracy reported that he was in “good health” and doing well despite the circumstances.

While Tracy was meeting with Gershkovich, Russian diplomats met with Vladimir Dunaev, who is being detained in the U.S. on cybercrime charges.

That fuelled speculation that a swap is in the works.

The U.S. also has been working to gain the release of another person they consider “wrongfully detained” in Russia. That’s Paul Whelan, a former marine who was detained in Russia in 2018 after authorities there claimed he was involved in an intelligence operation. He is currently serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted in 2020 in a trial the U.S. said was unfair.

What is ESPN doing?

This is the first Poynter Report since ESPN laid off some big names as part of massive layoffs that have hit ESPN and parent company Disney.

Among the major names cut were lead NBA game analyst Jeff Van Gundy, NBA studio analyst Jalen Rose, “College GameDay” personality David Pollack and longtime anchor and NFL host Suzy Kolber, who has been in the company 27 years.

There were more, including morning radio/TV hosts Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman, NFL draft expert Todd McShay and NFL analysts Steve Young and Matt Hasselbeck. In the latest round of mostly on-air personalities, the number of layoffs was about 20.

All layoffs are horrible, and it’s hard to not look at someone like Kolber and say, “That’s how you treat someone who has been good at her job for nearly three decades?”

One of ESPN’s biggest stars, Stephen A. Smith, said on his radio show Monday, “ESPN laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent … friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who’d done a phenomenal job and deserved better. They deserved better than the times we’re living in.”

But there’s one name in particular that I want to address: Jeff Van Gundy.

ESPN does a lot of programming, but you could make a case that their most important properties are “Monday Night Football,” college football (in particular, the college football national championship) and the NBA. The NBA Finals are as big as anything ESPN/ABC does.

So why would you get rid of who most NBA fans regard as not only the best NBA game analyst right now, but among the best ever? He’s everything you want from an analyst: He’s insightful, smart, funny, serious when he needs to be, self-deprecating. Most of all, he speaks in plain, digestible language and helps basketball fans — from the novice ones to the diehards — understand the game better and enjoy the broadcast more.

Look, I get it, there are many moving parts that go into layoffs. It’s mostly about money and often not about worth or talent. There also could be behind-the-scenes things that aren’t publicly known.

But explain to me how it’s smart business to lay off the best person you have on perhaps your most valuable property?

It was so out of the blue that podcaster (and noted NBA fan) Bill Simmons half-jokingly wondered on his “The Bill Simmons Podcast” if the NBA wanted Van Gundy out because he sometimes criticized the league.

Richard Deitsch, media writer for The Athletic, pointed out that cutting someone such as Van Gundy, whose annual salary is seven figures, could save many behind-the-scenes jobs.

He wrote, “You can understand that logic, but someone made a decision on Van Gundy, and it was a terrible one.”

It’s troubling when a network cares more about the bottom line than putting out the very best product. Then again, maybe a bigwig or two at Disney or ESPN doesn’t think Van Gundy is that good, or that the network will not have trouble replacing him.

It just seems like a head-scratcher, and I’m hardly alone in being confused.

Van Gundy isn’t going to be out of work long if he chooses not to be. The other major rights holder, TNT, surely will be interested in his services. Meanwhile, the current NBA broadcasting deals end after the 2024-25 season and there could be several outlets who are interested to get in on the NBA, including NBC, Apple and Amazon. You would think all would love to have Van Gundy as their main analyst.

Hot type

Just one recommendation today in Hot Type. Every now and then, one story seems to show up with glowing recommendations everywhere — Twitter, Facebook, email, text messages, lunch conversations. That is the case with this story. Seems as if everyone is talking about this piece from The Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins. I’ve long called Jenkins the finest sports columnist in the country. That might not be good enough. She is one of the finest writers in the country. So take the time to read this well-done piece about tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova: “Bitter rivals. Beloved friends. Survivors.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].