Jan 24 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) will begin

test launching ads on its social media platform Threads with a

few brands in the U.S. and Japan, it said on Friday, as the app

hits over 300 million monthly active users.

During early testing starting Friday, image ads will appear

in the Threads home feed, placed between content posts for a

small percentage of users, Meta said in a blog.

The social media giant said it will monitor the test closely

before scaling it broadly, adding that businesses will be able

to extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads.

Meta will also begin testing an inventory filter for ads in

Threads, which enabled through AI, allows advertisers to control

the sensitivity level of the organic content their ads appear

next to.

"The launch of Threads ads just weeks after Meta's content

moderation makeover will raise advertiser eyebrows. But the

volatility at TikTok is spurring brands to seek alternatives,

and Meta isn't going to pass up an opportunity to throw Threads

into the mix," said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at

Emarketer.

Meta earlier this month scrapped its U.S. fact-checking

program on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, three of the world's

biggest social media platforms with more than 3 billion users

globally.

Threads was launched in July 2023 as a challenger to X,

formerly Twitter, in a bid to win users from the de facto

micro-blogging site during its chaotic takeover by billionaire

Elon Musk.

Meta does not expect Threads to be "a meaningful driver of

2025 revenue," CFO Susan Li had said in a post-earnings call in

October.

The company plans to spend as much as $65 billion this year

to expand its AI infrastructure, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said

earlier on Friday, aiming to bolster the company's position

against rivals OpenAI and Google in the race to dominate the

technology.