With Twitter traffic “tanking” and Threads ascendant, Elon Musk says Mark Zuckerberg “is a cuck” and proposes “a literal dick-measuring contest”
Twitter owner calls Facebook founder a ‘cuck’ as rancour grows over launch of Threads, a competitor to Musk's network
The Guardian Martin Pengelly
Context & Ripple Effects
Meta had been preparing a Twitter rival and courting creators for a more orderly platform experience, making Threads' arrival a deliberate bid for users dissatisfied with Twitter rather than a standalone launch. Twitter's unresolved temporary reading limits created a particularly favorable opening.
The launch also put Zuckerberg visibly at the center of Meta's product push amid Twitter's turmoil, as reflected in coverage of Zuckerberg's public role in the rollout. The escalating personal dispute is consequential because it accompanies an early contest for attention and participation between the two services.
First-order effects
- The public feud raises the visibility of the Threads-versus-Twitter contest just as coverage describes Threads as gaining ground and Twitter traffic as falling.
- Musk and Zuckerberg become more directly identified with the platforms' competitive narratives, increasing the reputational stakes of their respective product and moderation choices.
Second-order effects
- Creators and audiences evaluating a text-based social platform have a clearer incentive to test Threads while Twitter's operational disruption remains unresolved; Meta's earlier creator outreach for a Twitter rival is better positioned to convert that attention.
- Twitter faces greater pressure to stabilize the user experience and demonstrate that its network remains durable, while Threads must sustain early engagement rather than rely on launch attention.
Third-order effects
- If established social graphs can be mobilized quickly around a rival service, incumbents' gatekeeping over public conversation becomes more contestable, though long-term retention—not initial sign-ups—will determine the shift.
- The episode points to competition in social media increasingly turning on platform reliability, creator participation, and network effects alongside product features and executive branding.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing contestability of social-platform networks when an incumbent's product disruptions give a well-resourced rival an opening.
Related: Contestable gatekeeping · Contestable Deployment Network · Threads · Twitter · Meta's planned Twitter rival · Twitter's reading limits
Related Coverage
- Elon Musk says ‘Zuck is cuck’ as Threads inches closer to 100m users The Independent · Vishwam Sankaran
- Twitter traffic sinks in wake of changes and launch of rival platform Threads The Guardian
- The Elon Musk private jet tracker resurfaces on Threads and immediately goads Mark Zuckerberg The Verge · Jess Weatherbed
- Suspended Twitter account tracking Elon Musk's jet moves to Threads Reuters · Jyoti Narayan
- Twitter traffic is ‘tanking’ as Meta's Threads hits 100 million users CNBC · Ashley Capoot
- Twitter's traffic is taking a dive, according to Cloudflare's CEO. The Verge · Wes Davis
- Elon Musk ramps up attacks against Zuckerberg with personal insult over Threads app: ‘Zuck is a cuck’ Fox News · Yael Halon
- ElonJet, the banned Twitter bot that tracked Elon Musk's jet, is now on Threads Mashable · Amanda Yeo
- Zuck is a cuck! Elon Musk escalates his war of words with Mark Zuckerberg over ‘protecting brand speech’ on his new Threads app ahead of their Las Vegas cage fight … Daily Mail · Emma James
- Elon Musk snipes ‘Zuck is a cuck’ about Meta boss Zuckerberg after rival Twitter app launch New York Post · Alex Oliveira
- Threads Is Going Gangbusters — Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter rival probably has about 100M new signups by now Newser · John Johnson
- Instagram's Threads surpasses 100 million users The Verge
- Instagram Threads hits 100 million users, becoming easily the fastest growing app ever The Independent · Andrew Griffin
- Meta's App Threads Reaches 100 Million Users - This Is Why Metaverse Post · Valeria Goncharenko
- Threads app signs up 100m users in less than a week BBC · Shiona McCallum
- Instagram's Threads crosses 100 Mn users, India drives download growth Entrackr · Harsh Upadhyay
- Mark Zuckerberg's Threads platform hits 100 million users in 5 days, growing faster than ChatGPT Insider · Beatrice Nolan
- Uh-oh, Elon. Meta's Threads now has over 100 million users Fast Company · Michael Grothaus
- Meta's New Social App Threads Surpasses 100M Users in One Week Coinspeaker · Chimamanda U. Martha
- As Threads Hits 100 Million Users, Musk Ramps Up Rivalry Tech.co · James Laird
- Threads Has Passed 100 Million Users in Less Than One Week iPhone in Canada Blog · Steve Vegvari
- Meta's Twitter competitor ‘Threads’ surpasses 100 million users KitGuru · Matthew Wilson
- Instagram's Threads Crosses 100 Million Users in Five Days to Become Fastest Growing App MySmartPrice · Ajit Singh
- Threads passes another huge user milestone Mashable · Sam Haysom
- Instagram's Threads Hits 100M Users to Become Fastest-Growing App Ever PetaPixel · Pesala Bandara
- Instagram Threads reaches 100 million users in just 5 days BigTechWire · Pradeep Viswanathan
- Threads number of users exceeds 100 million sign-ups, while Twitter tanks MSPoweruser · Rafly Pratama
- Threads Reaches 100 Million Members in Record Time Social Media Today · Andrew Hutchinson
- Meta's new ‘Twitter killer’ app, Threads, hits over 100 million users The Apple Post · David Joseppi
- Twitter rival Threads signs up 100 million users in five days Agence France-Presse
- Threads Has Managed to Surpass 100 Million Users in Just 5 Days, Hitting a Milestone Much Faster Than ChatGPT and Other Social Media Platforms Wccftech · Furqan Shahid
- Apple Plants Roots in Threads as Users Approach 100 Million PYMNTS.com
- Meta's Threads races to 100 million users in under a week Engadget · Kris Holt
- Meta's Threads app is on track to 100 million users as it reaches 70 million in just 5 days TweakTown · Jak Connor
- It's now quite possible and highly likely that Threads will be 100x the size of the Fediverse, specifically Mastodon usage within the next few weeks or months at most. — I'm fascinated to see how interoperability will impact Mastodon's culture because I'm reminded of how the internet changed forever when AOL brought regular people online when it had previously been techies and academics. … @carnage4life@mas.to · Dare Obasanjo
- Is Threads' Data Collection as Bad as Is Being Reported? MakeUseOf · Katie Rees
- Meta's Threads app to cross 100 mn users while Twitter traffic dips Techlusive · Pranav Sawant
- How many users are on Threads ? Where Meta App is available and how figures compare to Twitter The i Paper · Jaymi McCann
- Avoid Threads if you value your privacy BetaNews · Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson
- Meta's Twitter Rival ‘Threads’ Crosses 90 Mn Sign-Ups Within Days Of Launch [Details] International Business Times
- Disgraced Comedians Are Looking for a Second Chance on Threads Rolling Stone · Miles Klee
- Threads hits 70 million users, but the last thing the world needs right now is another social-media site MarketWatch · Quentin Fottrell
- Facebook/Meta launch a new contender to Twitter, named “Threads” - but the amount data it will collect on its users is shocking … David W. Sime
- Its no surprise Meta is in the business of “collecting data” via its provision of “free” services (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc). … Neil Thacker
- I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm still surprised seeing it all listed like this... Meta is not your friend. — “How Threads' Privacy Policy Compares to Twitter's (and Its Rivals')” — https://www.wired.com/... @McCullohMD@disabled.social
- Good that this is being compared and #Mastodon is the leader of the pack. https://www.wired.com/... @tchambers@indieweb.social · Tim Chambers
- How Threads' privacy policy compares to Twitter's (and its rivals') - Ars Technica Beehaw · Aranym To
- How Threads' privacy policy compares to Twitter's (and its rivals') Ars OpenForum
Discussion
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@elonmusk
Elon Musk
on x
@fentasyl Zuck is a cuck
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@elonmusk
Elon Musk
on x
@MarioNawfal Accurate assessment. Threads is just Instagram minus pics, which makes no sense, given that thirst pics are the main reason people use that app. How many times have you read comments on Insta pics & wished there were more? Personally, never.
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@elonmusk
Elon Musk
on x
@fentasyl I propose a literal dick measuring contest 📏
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@martinsfp
@martinsfp
on x
A story that would seem insane to anyone from 2021 https://twitter.com/...
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@mattbinder
Matt Binder
on x
there is good reason why Elon Musk's new go-to Twitter stat to flaunt is “unregretted user minutes” ...a completely made-up metric without a definition that absolutely no one in the industry uses https://twitter.com/...
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
Unclear if the measurement methodology for this MAU metric is consistent with how DAU was measured previously. Twitter reported 238MM mDAU ("monetizable DAU") in Q2 2022. https://twitter.com/...
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@nikitabier
Nikita Bier
on x
New Zuck banger just dropped. [Image: Zuckerberg replying “Concerning 😂” to Jason Calacanis' “@zuck is such a little copycat” post on Threads]
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@elonmusk
Elon Musk
on x
@brettdash_ @charliewrich Censorship pays them well
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@eastdakota
@eastdakota
on x
Twitter traffic tanking. https://radar.cloudflare.com/ domains [image]
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@pt
Parker
on x
For those keeping home at score, Elon bought a product for $44B, then Zuck built the same product for 1000x less, is stealing Elon's users like an absolute Chad, and, god willing, is soon going to choke him out in 90 seconds in a steel cage. So that's what cuck means now. https:/…
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@atrupar
Aaron Rupar
on x
i can't imagine why this platform is having a hard time attracting advertisers [image]
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@mattbinder
Matt Binder
on x
damn even Mark Zuckerberg is mocking Elon Musk's tweets now [image]
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@zuck
Mark Zuckerberg
on threads
Concerning 😂
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@philfung
Philip Fung
on threads
seems like Threads is censored from Trending, unlikely this is not in the top 30 US trends for the last day. Makes sense, but also shows how hard it is to stick to your principles when it is against...
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@zuck
Mark Zuckerberg
on threads
Concerning 😂
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UPROXX
UPROXX
on x
Elon Musk, The World's Richest Man, Followed Up His Dumb ‘Zuck Is A Cuck’ Tweet An Even Dumber Tweet
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@sarthakgh
Sar Haribhakti
on x
Over 95 million posts and 190 million likes on Threads so far 5% of Instagram user base is on Threads [image]
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@tamisawyer
Tami Sawyer
on x
It really should just count as instagram. This wasn't organic growth. https://twitter.com/...
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@tomwarren
Tom Warren
on x
Threads has passed 100 million users. Many will point out that's quicker than ChatGPT, but it has been bootstrapped to Instagram so the growth isn't quite the same. Still impressive to see this many people download and install a Twitter competitor https://www.theverge.com/...
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The Eclectic Light Company
Hoakley
on mastodon
Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky and what next?
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@austinkocher@mastodon.social
Austin Kocher, PhD
on mastodon
“While you're able to deactivate your Threads account whenever, you must delete your Instagram if you fully want to delete your Threads account.” — https://www.wired.com/...
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@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social
@CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social
on mastodon
Of interest to those who participate in #climate protest (lawful or not), those in groups that tend to be targeted by #LawEnforcement, and those who are #pregnant and don't wish to be: Choose your #SocialMedia and your communications apps wisely. …
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@benedictevans
Benedict Evans
on x
Old: launch your social app on iPhone and six months later launch it on android New: launch your social app and six months later, maybe, launch it in the EU
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@benedictevans
Benedict Evans
on x
(People are very confused In general about privacy. There are even people out there who still think Cambridge Analytica was real)
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@petreraleigh
Peter Raleigh
on x
I'm sorry but it's so, so funny Threads is illegal in the EU. Yeah here's our new website. It's the next big thing. The data harvesting is so blatant a half billion people are forbidden for their own good
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@benedictevans
Benedict Evans
on x
TIL: a lot of people read Apple's privacy ‘nutrition labels’ and think that an app can read any data on your phone and that the sandbox just doesn't exist. This is the twitter app. ‘Purchase history’ doesn't mean it's seeing anything I buy on my phone [image]
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@benedictevans
Benedict Evans
on x
The irony is that Apple's privacy labels totally undermine Apple's own narrative on privacy - Apple is telling its users there is no sandbox and any app can read anything on your iPhone, which isn't true at all. They're not just vague but totally counterproductive https://twitter…
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@crickettgrrrl
@crickettgrrrl
on x
Why does Threads/Meta need so much of our Health data? NONE of the other SM apps do. #FuckZuck https://arstechnica.com/...
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@ackocher
Austin Kocher, PhD
on x
“While you're able to deactivate your Threads account whenever, you must delete your Instagram if you fully want to delete your Threads account.” https://www.wired.com/...
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@follylollysews
@follylollysews
on x
Ok since it's becoming a Thing and twitter users are notoriously bad at sharing information in a way that isn't just a game of telephone https://www.google.com/...
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@stellabelle
@stellabelle
on x
Learn what data each social media platform collects on you. Interestingly, if you join Threads but then want to delete your account, you will have to delete your Instagram account. Its all connected which basically sucks. https://arstechnica.com/...
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@madoldmoai
@madoldmoai
on x
Mastodon is the clear winner in privacy. Bluesky isn't too bad. Threads is as bad as we all expected, but Android users can secure it reasonably well. https://www.wired.com/....
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r/privacy
r
on reddit
How Threads' Privacy Policy Compares to Twitter's (and Its Rivals')