Meta Clarifies Why the NYC/NJ Earthquake Didn’t Trend Earlier in the Day

Instagram Threads may share similarities with X, but it hasn’t yet reached the same level of engagement during major events. While X dominated discussions about the recent earthquake in the New York/New Jersey area, Threads initially lagged behind in trending topics related to the event. Although users were discussing the earthquake on Threads and using relevant tags to surface their posts, it didn’t generate the same level of traction as on X. Despite its potential, Threads has yet to emerge as a go-to platform for real-time discussions during significant events.

The absence of hashtags on Threads presents a different dynamic for tagging and trending topics compared to platforms like X. Users on Threads may use different tagging conventions, such as “[term] Threads,” instead of traditional hashtags like #earthquake. This variation in tagging methods could lead to fragmentation in discussions around a particular topic, as users may use different tags to reference the same event. Consequently, it may be challenging for a specific term to gain enough momentum to trend on Threads, even if numerous discussions are taking place on the platform about the same subject.

Instagram’s explanation sheds light on why the earthquake didn’t immediately appear in Threads’ top trends. The platform’s algorithm considers various signals, such as the number of people discussing a topic and engaging with related posts. Since the earthquake was a regional event, the conversation might have taken longer to gain enough traction on a national scale to appear in the top trends. This delay highlights the differences in how trends are identified and prioritized on Threads compared to platforms that prioritize real-time, national-level discussions.