Score one for open source social media, with BBC abandoning its Threads account in favor of Mastodon.

Threads is Meta and Instagram’s answer to X (formerly Twitter). Despite getting off to a strong start, Threads has failed to deliver on its promise, with engagement plummeting post-launch.

According to ​Darnell Clayton, some of the biggest organizations are abandoning their Threads accounts, including BBC. The organization has not posted anything to Threads in weeks.

In contrast, Clayton points out that BBC’s Mastodon accounts remain relatively active:

While accounts like @[email protected] & @[email protected] remain relatively active, @[email protected] appears abandoned, despite boasting far higher engagement levels on Meta’s Twitter rival (now called X).

Clayton attributes the BBC’s continued use of Mastodon to several factors, including Meta’s anti-news measures in Canada, the ability to have more control with Mastodon, and Threads lack of an API to automate posts.

While it is certainly possible Meta may succeed in making Threads a long-term success, it is certainly not headed in that direction at this point in time.