The “For You” algorithm, which promotes the most interesting content across social networks tailored to individual users, was disjointed on U.S. election night, highlighting posts from hours ago that no longer reflected opinions. It provided an outdated and nearly unusable experience. Current state of the race. Frustration was particularly high in the Meta's X Rivals thread, where many users posted hopeful posts about Kamala Harris' victory, urged voters to “stand in line,” and continued to comment on early results even after her victory. He complained that he had seen posts promoting it as a “red mirage.” It is clear that Harris is losing ground to President-elect Trump in the battleground states. These posts continued to appear even after Trump's victory almost became a reality, as if users were temporarily transported back in time.
“This app sucks tonight. The outdated garbage that shows up in the For You feed is infuriating,” one Threads user wrote, echoing sentiments shared across the platform on election night.
“It sucks to see the current fear interspersed with optimistic posts from 24 hours ago,” said another, whose feed randomly cascades current posts among posts from earlier in the evening. Harris supporters on social networks talked about their experiences at the time.
Others referred to Threads' For You feed as rubbing salt into a wound, being painful, annoying, and giving off a “non-linear horror movie vibe.”
These complaints aren't new, but they point to a larger issue facing Threads: its user interface.
After all, the reverse chronological feed these users wanted on the thread already exists.
Launched in July 2023, Threads offers users a follow feed that only shows posts from people they follow on social networks. Does not include recommended content. This feed works similarly to X's Follow feed in that posts are not sorted by an algorithm and are displayed in the order they arrive. However, unlike X, the Following feed is fairly hidden within the Threads app, and clearly many people don't know it exists or how to access it.
In X, on the other hand, navigating to a time-series feed is as simple as tapping a tab at the top of the screen, making it easy to switch between real-time and algorithmic experiences.
At issue is how Threads designed the app to hide the follow feed from users.
On mobile, users can[スレッド]Tap the icon[For You]and[Following]You should see two tab options. Ideally, both tabs would be available at all times, allowing users to choose which experience they prefer at the time. Meanwhile, on the web, Threads has been offering a TweetDeck-like experience since May, allowing users to pin multiple columns with time series feeds. But real-time events like elections are often watched with people glued to the TV and their phones in hand. And here on mobile, Threads aren't enough.
The problem is not limited to threads. On TikTok, when you launch your For You feed on Wednesday morning, you're likely to see a mix of videos, including older election coverage, personalized to your interests and inclinations. (Unless, of course, you actively avoid politics on the platform.) That means you can still see videos urging you to vote even after the election has been decided, which is also frustrating and unhelpful.
It is unclear whether user complaints will have any impact, but it is highly unlikely.
In some markets, including the EU, regulators are asking social media platforms to disable addictive algorithmic feeds, but how should these feeds work in the US? , or whether it can be set as the default. Allowing users to permanently switch to a chronological timeline is not an option that Meta or other companies want. Because algorithmic feeds are more effective for advertisers and data shows they increase user engagement. This leaves users at the mercy of chaotic algorithmic feeds at a time when real-time information is critical.