Del. Cia Price has been on Twitter for nearly a decade.
She regularly uses the social media platform to communicate with constituents, and even credits the site with helping her craft legislation later signed into law.
But since the company came under new ownership last year, the Newport News Democrat has been unimpressed with its new policies. When she heard about Threads, the new social media app from Twitter rival Meta, she quickly signed up.
“I really like it,” she said. “It has a user-friendly feel to it and so far the folks that I’m following and who are following me are having interesting conversations and not just talking at each other, which is a welcome change of pace.”
Elon Musk has implemented a series of erratic changes since buying Twitter last year, including setting a limit this month on the number of posts users can view each day. The change sparked notable backlash, leaving some to speculate that Threads could overthrow Twitter as the preferred social media platform for political figures.
Many political players in Virginia are active on Twitter and, so far, aren’t abandoning their accounts. But some Hampton Roads state legislators — seemingly all Democrats so far — are dipping their toes into Threads, which is trying to present itself as a more stable, friendlier version of Twitter.
“They are trying to replicate a Twitter experience prior to Musk’s takeover and that is really appealing to a lot of individuals,” said Cayce Myers, a public relations professor at Virginia Tech. “If Threads takes off, which I think it will, you are certainly going to see the government on there.”
More than 100 million users signed up for Threads in its first week. But Meta executives have said they don’t intend to promote politics or hard news on the platform. Several local lawmakers have made the leap anyhow. Among those on the new platform: House Minority Leader Don Scott, D-Portsmouth; Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk; Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News; and Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach.
Sen. Louise Lucas — the reigning queen of social media in Hampton Roads — also joined Threads. The Portsmouth Democrat has more than 90,000 followers on Twitter, where she’s earned a reputation for comical yet biting quips that sometimes go viral. She hadn’t posted anything on Threads as of Friday, but already had more than 400 followers.
Del. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, said she’s having trouble downloading the app but expects to have her account up soon.
That’s not to say she’s looking forward to it. Graves said she doesn’t have much hope that any social media site will stay “friendly” for long, but still believes it’s a crucial tool for communication.
“I think that it’s important that we use the platforms that are available,” she said. “That’s part of public office, informing the public and communicating with the public — so if it’s there and people are using it, then we want to be there also.”
Price, meanwhile, is cautiously optimistic.
The delegate said she was eager to join Threads because she’s dismayed by sexist and racist content now permitted to stay up on Twitter. She hopes the new platform will maintain stricter standards.
Under Musk, Twitter removed some community content standards and eliminated an advisory council that provided guidance on tackling hate speech and harmful conduct. The move largely drew ire from Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans have praised Musk as being an advocate for free speech.
Myers, who focuses on political communication, said the left has generally been more critical of Twitter’s changes throughout the past year. While some of the Musk’s changes received partisan reactions, the professor said the limit on daily views can present a potential obstacle for any user.
“One of the benefits of social media is that if you are in any sort of communication space, you can get your information out quickly and control the flow of information,” he said. “If you have a restriction on the views, then that really does take away the effectiveness of the communication, regardless of what that communication is.”
Although Myers said it remains to be seen if Threads can top Twitter, he believes it’s a legitimate threat.
“It is a competitor and because it’s a Meta-based product, it’s going to eat into some of their marketplace,” he said.
While Republicans seem slower to embrace Threads in Hampton Roads, some notable Republicans at the federal level have popped up on the platform, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former Vice President Mike Pence. Former President Donald Trump previously launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, after he was banned from Twitter.
Rich Anderson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he doesn’t have any objections to Threads but doesn’t plan to join. He isn’t anticipating a mass exodus from Twitter or Facebook.
Facebook, which is also owned by Meta, and Twitter often face criticism but have maintained massive user networks for years, he explained.
“Republicans pre-Musk talked about leaving because they thought it was too liberal and now you have liberals saying they’re going to leave because they think it’s become too conservative,” Anderson said. “I don’t think there will be huge defections but that’s just my gut intuition telling me that.”
Spokesperson Macaulay Porter did not directly respond to an inquiry about whether Gov. Glenn Youngkin is on or considering joining Threads. But the governor does appear to have a Threads account, which as of Friday remained private and had three followers.
“The governor will continue to engage with Virginians through multiple mediums — whether it is Twitter, Facebook, press releases or speaking directly with Virginians across the Commonwealth,” she wrote in an email.
In addition to political figures, several Virginia agencies maintain active Twitter accounts with large followings, including the Department of Education (17,000 followers), Department of Health (26,000 followers), Department of Emergency Management (43,000 followers) and the Department of Transportation (77,000 followers).
Jessica Cowardin, assistant director of communications for VDOT, said the agency has not joined Threads but is exploring it.
Jason Elmore, deputy communications director for the emergency management department, said the agency uses Twitter to notify the public about safety alerts, such as tornado and flash flood warnings. But he said the department doesn’t have any serious concerns with the changes on Twitter because it uses a range of methods to communicate with the community.
“So far, it hasn’t been an issue but we are keeping track of things going on with Twitter,” Elmore said. “I foresee that in the near future that we are going to go ahead and give Threads a try and see what it’s like. It does kind of have the same feel as Twitter does so hopefully we can utilize it as well.”
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
