Jan 27, 2025 11:17:00

Meta's 'abortion of diversity' leads to decline in Facebook and Instagram user numbers, but they rebound thanks to TikTok

Calls for a boycott of Meta arose due to a combination of factors, including the company's decision to

eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program for hiring, training, supplier selection, and other aspects, as well as the abolition of independent fact-checking that had been in place since 2016. As a result, Meta's user base temporarily declined, but it was reported that it has since started to increase due to the bleak outlook for its rival TikTok.

Many people left Meta after Zuckerberg's changes, but user numbers have rebounded | TechSpot
https://www.techspot.com/news/106492-meta-platforms-recover-user-numbers-despite-boycott-efforts.html

Meta is paying creators to promote Instagram on other video apps

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/26/meta-is-paying-creators-to-promote-instagram-on-other-video-apps.html

In January 2025, Meta abolished fact-checking because 'excessive fact-checking has become too much of an obstacle to the freedom of expression that we were aiming for.' It is reported that in the future, freedom of expression will be prioritized and information will be labeled as correct or incorrect in the form of 'community notes' where users can rate posts. In addition, some users who used Meta's services deleted their accounts in protest of the abolition of 'DEI,' and celebrities called for people to log out of Meta's services for a week.

As the system shifts to a different one, users are concerned that violent content and misinformation may spread on Meta, leading to search terms such as 'how to delete Facebook' trending for a time.

After Meta ended independent fact-checking, Google searches for how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts surged - GIGAZINE

As Business Insider points out, these changes caused Meta's daily active user count to decline slightly between January and January 2025. However, the number of daily active users gradually recovered toward the end of January, and actually increased year-on-year. Instagram, whose user base is similar to TikTok, saw an even more remarkable recovery than Facebook. Regarding this, technology media TechSpot and others have reported that 'the rebound is thanks to TikTok.'

TikTok, a short-form video service available worldwide, was deemed an ' adversarially controlled application' due to the influence of the 'Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary-Controlled Applications Act ' enacted under the Joe Biden administration, as its parent company is Chinese-owned, and was required to either sell its business or cease providing services in the United States by the deadline of January 19, 2025. In fact, TikTok became unavailable in the United States on the deadline, but this measure was temporarily postponed due to the consideration of President Donald Trump, who took office as President of the United States on January 20, 2025.

TechSpot and other sources point out that TikTok's bleak decline has likely led people to flock to Meta's Instagram, which offers a similar short-form video service called Reel.

Meta isn't just sitting around waiting for users to be left behind by TikTok. According to CNBC, Meta is reaching out to influencers to promote Instagram on other video apps, including TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. One contract offered to an influencer included 'promoting Instagram on the short-form video service twice a month' and 'exclusively posting on Reels for three months,' CNBC reported.

According to people familiar with the matter, Instagram is also offering different amounts of work and compensation depending on the size of the audience. The Information reported that 'Creators with large TikTok followings are reportedly being offered cash bonuses of $10,000 to $50,000 a month if they move their videos to Reels.' CNBC

said , 'This push by Instagram highlights the high risks for social networks competing to attract millions of users as TikTok's future hangs in the balance.'