David Bridges
Users of Threads have been humorously discussing the sometimes peculiar posts that the app’s recommendation algorithm serves up since its inception. Recently, however, some users have become aware of an emerging category of odd posts that are appearing in their suggestions: posts from unfamiliar individuals seeking “friends.” This trend is raising eyebrows and prompting curiosity about the underlying mechanics of the app.
These posts frequently showcase selfies of young individuals whose profiles assert that they are 18 years old. Engadget has noted a significant number of these posts surfacing in Threads’ “related threads” feature, which highlights recommended content even for users who are logged out. The rationale behind these posts being classified as “related” to other trending recommended posts remains unclear.
For instance, a post about Spotify from a well-known Threads user, Chris Messina, was displayed on Threads’ home feed for logged-out users. When viewers clicked on that post, they were shown a “related” post from Adam Mosseri, the head of Threads. Interestingly, below that post, there was another “related” post featuring an account claiming to be an 18-year-old girl in 11th grade, which left many users puzzled.
For reasons yet to be determined, Threads appears to be showcasing numerous similar posts within its “related threads” feature. For instance, another post was also identified as “related” to different content elsewhere in the platform. Upon examining this user’s profile, it became evident that they had repeatedly shared the same content—a photo followed by a WhatsApp link—over 30 times within just five days, indicating a possible spam trend.
Additionally, Aaron Souppouris, the editor-in-chief of Engadget, received a peculiar “related” thread suggestion beneath one of his own posts while logged out, further illustrating the oddity of the algorithm’s recommendations.
As Threads has amassed a user base of over 350 million, it is not surprising that the platform is experiencing an uptick in spam content. Meta executive Adam Mosseri mentioned that the company had observed a rise in “spam attacks” in July 2023, shortly after the platform’s launch. Previously, the company acknowledged efforts to manage engagement bait effectively within the app.
While the existence of spam on a platform as large as Threads is not unexpected, the frequency with which the app recommends these dubious posts is indeed perplexing. Although Meta has not provided answers to inquiries regarding these posts or the rationale behind their “related” status, they did confirm that such spammy posts should not be included as recommended content within the app.
Importantly, spammy posts are also being reported in recommendations across other Meta applications. For example, a user on Reddit spotted a peculiar post appearing as a suggestion on Instagram, which included a selfie of a woman alongside the caption “I need a bf 🎀 Age don’t mind.” A brief examination of that user’s profile revealed that they had shared dozens of posts with that identical caption within the previous week. The Reddit user remarked, “Every time the suggested Threads window appears, I have to sift through 2-4 posts like this before encountering something normal. I utilize the ‘not interested’ feature and report every instance, yet they continue to resurface.”
The ongoing appearance of these posts suggests a coordinated spam campaign. The identical selfie and text reported by the Reddit user have also been shared by at least one other account on Threads. Furthermore, searches within Threads reveal that multiple accounts are repetitively posting phrases like “age doesn’t matter” or “don’t mind age,” further contributing to the spam problem on the platform.
Have you experienced similar spammy posts in your recommendations on Threads? Feel free to reach out at karissa.bell [at] engadget.com or connect with me on Signal at karissabe.51.
Daniel Mercer
