Bluesky's User Surge: A Left-Leaning Refuge Amidst Social Media Shifts Post-Musk's X Acquisition

By Greg Moriarty | Saturday, 16 November 2024 11:59 PM
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Image Credit : Photo by The Campus Current

In the wake of the recent presidential election, Bluesky, a social media platform with a left-leaning bias, has seen an influx of over one million new users.

This surge in membership comes amid a shift in the social media landscape, prompted by the appointment of Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, to the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Musk's acquisition and subsequent renaming of Twitter to X has sparked a search for alternatives among certain users, as reported by The Guardian.

Bluesky, established in 2019 by Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, has emerged as a refuge for those disenchanted with the ideological leanings of X's leadership. Musk's purchase of Twitter from Dorsey in 2022 for a staggering $44 billion was motivated by his intent to combat censorship and restore free speech in America. However, this move has led to a migration of left-leaning celebrities and individuals to Bluesky, which they perceive as a "safe space" for those grappling with differing political ideologies.

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According to The Post Millennial, the platform's user base, predominantly from North America and the UK, has swelled from nine million in September to approximately 15 million globally. Despite this growth, Bluesky still trails behind X and Meta's Threads in terms of active users.

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Bluesky's unique features, such as the ability for users to curate their own feeds akin to X's lists, offer a degree of control over content consumption. The platform's designers assert that its anti-toxicity features provide a shield against harassment and dogpiling, further enhancing its appeal.

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Prominent Democratic figures like Don Lemon and Mark Cuban, as well as media outlets boycotting X, such as the Guardian, have joined the Bluesky bandwagon. This trend underscores the shifting dynamics of social media platforms and their role in shaping political discourse.

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