Nathan VanSteenkiste ‘26, Contributing Writer
After enduring months of unchecked hate speech, division, and conspiracy theories, hundreds of thousands of users deactivated their accounts on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) this past November. On Nov. 6, 2024—the day after the election—an estimated 115,000 US users left the conservative-leaning site, with some blaming Musk’s alleged “facilitating of Trump’s return to power” through a lack of content moderation and political bias, according to Euronews.
When Musk purchased what was Twitter in 2022, he argued that the platform was failing to be a “platform for free speech,” claiming that conservative speech was being “unfairly limited,” according to Newsweek. Since rebranding as X in July 2023, Musk has also faced backlash for inconsistent moderation—silencing critics of Trump’s MAGA movement while allowing hate speech and disinformation to increase. A study by the Washington Post found that leading up to the election, X’s algorithm disproportionally boosted right-wing sources. Republican accounts saw a spike in follower counts while “their tweets … collectively received billions more views” than Democrats. However, they went on to say that there were no signs of “direct manipulation.”
South Lyon sophomore Addisyn Kundinger somewhat agreed with that sentiment, “I think Musk has made the platform less restricted towards conservative views and the algorithm favors those viewpoints.” She added, “I don’t use X because I think it spreads more misinformation than actual helpful content to society.”
Regardless, X’s supposed bias and divided climate are driving many celebrities and brands away from the platform. Actress Gabrielle Union deactivated her account on Nov. 15, blaming the widespread negativity on X; she said, “I am committing to engaging in spaces that truly value inclusivity, respect, and integrity in the digital world.”
News media source The Guardian called out Musk specifically as it exited the platform indefinitely: “X is a toxic media platform and … its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.” They added that the site promotes “far-right conspiracy theories and racism.” Other celebrities, like singer and actress Barbara Streisand and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, announced they would move to a new platform: Bluesky.
Created in 2019 by Jack Dorsey, then-CEO of Twitter, Bluesky began as a research project to develop a “decentralized social media platform” where users can “set their own rules,” according to Forbes. In 2021, Jay Graber was appointed CEO of the company, and his team began developing the AT Protocol, a communication protocol that helped achieve Bluesky’s goal of decentralizing social networking, meaning that the user has more control—and there is not an algorithm dictating one’s feed.
The platform officially launched in February 2024, with just three million users, and has only grown since, with over 25.9 million users as of Dec. 30, 2024, according to Bluesky’s 2024 In Review, written by Graber. Since its launch, according to Window Central, over half of those new users, approximately 13 million, have “joined the platform in just the last month and a half,” showing a massive boost in popularity.
To improve user experience and make it a better competitor to sites like Meta’s Threads or Musk’s X, Bluesky has added several features: Hashtags, Direct Messages, Starter packs, Video Sharing, and Trending topics. Weeks after launching, Bluesky also implemented their innovative “Federation” technology, which uses the AT Protocol and allows users to customize their algorithms and create custom feeds—they can choose what they want to see and from whom they see it. Essentially, if a user is a fan of model cars, they can create their own feed that solely includes posts about them.
Furthermore, they have introduced features promoting anti-toxicity, “such as the ability to detach your own past from a ‘quote post’ made by another user,” which can prevent a user’s words from being twisted or used for another purpose (Euronews). In addition, the site has “strong blocking features … designed to stamp out harassment and abuse.”
While those features sound interesting, can Bluesky be the next popular social media site? Seemingly, yes. Bluesky appears to be X’s anti—a better, safer environment to discuss. Although Threads is X’s closest competitor when you look at the numbers, with around 275 million users, Bluesky seems like the more unique and potentially more successful alternative.
That said, there is a reasonable concern that if X users only migrate to Bluesky for political reasons, “the platform could splinter into two echo chambers, split along political and ideological lines” according to Euronews. This would be even more detrimental to an already divided American public. The site began as a way for users to have a more personalized experience without hate speech or being fed propaganda by an algorithm—it was not intended to be anti-right or ignore viewpoints other than those of liberals.
According to American writer Parker Malloy, an early user of the site, Bluesky is a refined version of Twitter’s old and healthier version—pre-Musk. She said, “Bluesky offers something Musk’s platform no longer can: a digital refuge from the toxicity that’s driving people away.” As stated on its website, Bluesky remains committed to being a transparent site that allows people to discuss and share viewpoints—not harassment or bad-faith arguments. Its goal is not to shut out people’s opinions—or stop people from disagreeing—but to moderate them in a manner that doesn’t discriminate.
Malloy agrees, stating that disagreeing is essential: “It’s not about avoiding disagreement—it’s about fostering an environment where disagreements can actually happen productively.” She added that the real problem with X is not differing views, but rather the “sheer volume of hate, harassment, and dehumanizing rhetoric that gets amplified by algorithms.”
Graber says Bluesky is “excited to introduce more features and improvements” in the New Year.
Lyon Life 