Threads vs. Twitter: The war of words

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been taking jibes on each other online. Musk even called Zuckerberg a 'cuck' and Threads a 'copycat'.

Hyderabad: It is no news that Tesla’s Elon Musk and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg are arch rivals. But it is their latest social media platforms that have further added fuel to the fire. Musk took over Twitter in 2022 but the organisation has been pretty unstable after that. To rival Twitter, Zuckerberg launched Threads- an Instagram app, last week. The duo have been taking jibes on each other online. Musk even called Zuckerberg a ‘cuck’ and Threads a ‘copycat’.

Both platforms are alike and serve the same purpose – to give users a platform to share their thoughts. But it is this similarity that didn’t sit well with the Twitter boss and its launch has in fact resulted in the decline of Twitter’s traffic.

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Just a day after Threads was launched, Twitter threatened legal action against it. “Competition is fine, cheating is not,” said Elon Musk, alleging that Meta hired dozens of former Twitter employees who “had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information.”

In response to this, “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee – that’s just not a thing,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote on Threads.

Interestingly, although many dismissed Threads before its launch, it became the first platform to hit 100 million sign-ups in less than a week, surpassing the record set by ChatGPT.

At a time when Twitter is grappling to win back its advertisers after Musk’s takeover, having an alternative platform would surely be a problem. And to make things worse for Twitter, Threads is integrated with Instagram, making it a more lucrative option for advertisements.

Apple releases new security update:

Apple recently released the latest Rapid Security Response (RSR) update for iPhones, iPads, and Macs running on iOS 16.5.1 (a) and iPadOS 16.5.1 (a). This comes after hackers recently breached Apple’s security systems.

To update your device to the latest RSR on iPhone and iPad, navigate to Settings> General > Software update > Automatic Updates and make sure the ‘Security Responses and System Files’ toggle is turned on.

ChatGPT user numbers plummet:

For the first time since its launch, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence-powered chatbot ChatGPT experienced a decline in its site traffic.

A report by The Washington Post revealed that ChatGPT’s traffic on both app and website decreased by 9.7 per cent in June. Data from Sensor Tower also indicated a significant drop in ChatGPT app downloads on iOS. While ChatGPT is now integrated into several other platforms, its very own site seems to be in a spot.

Tata Group could soon become first Indian iPhone maker:

As Tata Group is closing in on an agreement to acquire Taiwanese company, Wistron Corp, it may soon become the first Indian company to assemble iPhones.

Wistron’s factory in Karnataka is valued at over $600 million and currently assembles the iPhone 14 model. If a takeover happens, according to a Bloomberg report, Tata Group will honour commitments made by Wistron to Apple after acquiring the factory.