Current:Home > NewsBluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X -FundGuru
Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X
View
Date:2025-04-13 01:40:21
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Social media site Bluesky has gained 1 million new users in the week since the U.S. election, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and engage with others online.
Bluesky said Wednesday that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October.
Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Elon Musk’s X, with a “discover” feed as well a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.
The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time that Bluesky has benefitted from people leaving X. Bluesky gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in the span of one day last month, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user’s public posts.
Despite Bluesky’s growth, X posted last week that it had “dominated the global conversation on the U.S. election” and had set new records. The platform saw a 15.5% jump in new-user signups on Election Day, X said, with a record 942 million posts worldwide. Representatives for Bluesky and for X did not respond to requests for comment.
Bluesky has referenced its competitive relationship to X through tongue-in-cheeks comments, including an Election Day post on X referencing Musk watching voting results come in with President-elect Donald Trump.
“I can guarantee that no Bluesky team members will be sitting with a presidential candidate tonight and giving them direct access to control what you see online,” Bluesky said.
Across the platform, new users — among of them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities — have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of X, when it was still Twitter.
On Wednesday, The Guardian said it would no longer post on X, citing “far right conspiracy theories and racism” on the site as a reason.
Last year, advertisers such as IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast fled X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the site in general, with Musk inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Megan Thee Stallion sued by former cameraman, accused of harassment and weight-shaming
- Mount Everest pioneer George Mallory's final letter to wife revealed 100 years after deadly climb: Vanishing hopes
- As romance scammers turn dating apps into hunting grounds, critics look to Match Group to do more
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- US banning TikTok? Your key questions answered
- Arizona Democrats poised to continue effort to repeal 1864 abortion ban
- Divided Supreme Court wrestles with Idaho abortion ban and federal law for emergency care
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- What it's like to watch Trump's hush money trial from inside the courtroom
Ranking
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Pelosi says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign
- Megan Thee Stallion sued by former cameraman, accused of harassment and weight-shaming
- Isabella Strahan Shares Empowering Message Amid Brain Cancer Battle
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Hazmat crews detonate 'ancient dynamite' found in Utah home after neighbors evacuated
- Biden’s Morehouse graduation invitation is sparking backlash, complicating election-year appearance
- Kyle Rittenhouse, deadly shooter, college speaker? A campus gun-rights tour sparks outrage
Recommendation
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Secret army of women who broke Nazi codes get belated recognition for WWII work
Video shows Florida authorities wrangling huge alligator at Air Force base
Why the military withdrawal from Niger is a devastating blow to the U.S., and likely a win for Russia
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
North Carolina legislators return to adjust the budget and consider other issues
2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP
Tesla layoffs: Company plans to cut nearly 2,700 workers at Austin, Texas factory