Meta Mulling Text-Based Social Network to Rival Elon Musk’s Twitter

Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, said it is considering launching a new Twitter-like social network.

“We’re exploring a standalone, decentralized social network for sharing text updates,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” The rep said the company had no additional info on the prospective social network to share. News site Moneycontrol first reported on the potential Meta service, which is code-named “P92.”

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The new Meta app would be based on — and interoperable with — the framework that powers Mastodon, a Twitter-like service that launched in 2016 and has seen a surge in popularity since Musk’s takeover of Twitter last October.

Under Musk, Twitter has dramatically slashed its workforce to reduce costs. The company had about 7,500 employees when Musk took over, and it is now estimated to have fewer than 2,000. Musk also has tried to drive up subscription revenue through Twitter Blue, which will become the only way individuals can be verified on the service going forward.

Meanwhile, Meta recently took another page from Musk’s Twitter playbook. Last month, the tech giant began rolling out Meta Verified, a subscription service for Facebook and Instagram users that includes a verified blue check-mark badge — just like Twitter Blue — as well as other perks. Meta Verified is priced at $11.99/month on the web or $14.99/month on Apple’s iOS. The company initially launched the service in Australia and New Zealand with more countries “soon,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chairman and CEO, said in announcing the plans.

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