LOS ANGELES: Social media site Bluesky has gained 1 million new users in the week since the US 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 percent 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 US election” and had set new records. The platform saw a 15.5 percent 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 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. At the same time, television journalist Don Lemon posted on X that he is leaving the platform but will continue to use other social media, including Bluesky.
Lemon said he felt X was no longer a place for “honest debate and discussion.” He noted changes to the site’s terms of service set to go into effect Friday that state lawsuits against X must be filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas rather than the Western District of Texas. Musk said in July that he was moving X’s headquarters to Texas from San Francisco.
“As the Washington Post recently reported on X’s decision to change the terms, this ‘ensures that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics,’” Lemon wrote. “I think that speaks for itself.”
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.

LONDON: The Guardian announced Wednesday it will cease posting from its official accounts on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, citing concerns over its recent coverage of the US election and a growing prevalence of “toxic content.”

The British newspaper, which operates over 80 accounts on X with a combined following of nearly 27 million, said the decision takes effect immediately.

“We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter),” said The Guardian.

“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”

The Guardian pointed to a rise in “disturbing content” on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racist content, as well as coverage of the US presidential election that it said reinforced its decision.

Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X https://t.co/j4fRgzSYde

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 13, 2024

Since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of X in October 2022, the platform has come under fire for its perceived failure to curb misinformation, especially on high-stakes topics like the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and government elections, including in the US.

Despite mounting pressure from rights groups and government officials who have warned of potential fines, Musk has upheld what he calls a “free speech absolutist” approach, defending his stance on minimal content moderation.

The Guardian described X as a “toxic media platform” that no longer meets conditions for responsible publishing.

“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work,” it explained.

Content from The Guardian will still be shareable on X, and reporters will continue to use the platform for news-gathering purposes.

The Guardian joins other media outlets in boycotting X over disputes with Musk. Last year, National Public Radio stopped posting after the platform labeled it “state-affiliated media,” a designation that also prompted PBS, a US public broadcaster, to suspend its activity on X.