As the chaos on Threads and Instagram continues, The Verge writer Umar Shakier describes Meta’s moderation as “out of control.” Dozens of Threads users, including Shakier, have had their accounts deleted for allegedly being underage when they’re clearly not.
The issue has gotten so bad that “Threads Moderation Failures” started trending on Oct. 9.
Aside from account deletion, users are noting a range of other issues. Reportedly, many users’ accounts have been deleted or restricted after linking to articles covering contentious topics.
Furthermore, incorrect fact-checks are being added to political posts, while factual posts on issues like Hurricane Milton are being throttled.
How is Threads over-moderating?
Meta is, as Shakier puts it, restricting and banning users “on a hair trigger.” One example Shakier cites is a colleague being locked out for joking they “wanted to die” because of a heatwave.
In a new low for Threads, users have dubbed the situation “crackergate,” with accounts getting severely penalized for posting the word “cracker.”
The situation has also discouraged creators from posting on the X competitor, with gaming creator Wario64 saying he was “done posting” for the week after receiving multiple flags on his posts.
While head Adam Mosseri has tried putting out the fires — replying to several users and promising they’re looking into it — the damage might already be done.
