That’s not to say the company doesn’t know how to run Instagram – since Facebook bought the platform for $1 billion in 2012, it’s grown to have more than a billion monthly users.
There also seems to be a bit of ego: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is angry that Facebook doesn’t get credit for the explosive growth of Instagram and WhatsApp, according to The Information.
The move shows that Facebook has a fundamental misunderstanding about why Instagram is successful — and why Facebook is failing (at least in the U.S.).
Facebook is a tarnished brand: Between clickbait, fake news, a $5 billion dollar settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over privacy violations, disastrous congressional hearings, lackluster customer service, and a widely disliked CEO, the platform has seen a signficant decrease in usage.
It’s the place where your parents hang out.
At the same time, Instagram keeps adding American users – and Edison data shows most of the people leaving Facebook appear to be fleeing to Instagram.