Bluesky has soared to the top of the Apple App Store’s U.S. chart this week, drawing thousands of new users as frustration with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) mounts in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election. This surge, marking Bluesky as a strong competitor, reflects widespread concerns over Musk’s role in shaping political discourse on X, which some say has increasingly favored a right-wing perspective.
In the past 90 days, Bluesky’s user base has doubled, with over a million new sign-ups just last week, bringing its total to more than 15 million users. Several prominent journalists and news outlets, such as the Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel, the New York Times’ Mara Gay, and even the Guardian, have announced their departure from X in favor of Bluesky. According to data from digital intelligence firm Similarweb, over 115,000 U.S. users deactivated their X accounts the day after the election, the highest single-day drop since Musk’s acquisition.
Despite these challenges, X has continued to see high traffic. Data from Sensor Tower and Similarweb suggests a significant increase in daily web visits on X around Election Day, though its user engagement has not fully compensated for declines in recent years. Meanwhile, Bluesky has been gaining traction, and its user engagement rate has outpaced X in the post-election period, according to similar metrics.
While Musk has stated his intentions for X to remain a politically neutral “digital town square,” his endorsement of former President Donald Trump and recent policy changes have made the platform a hub for right-leaning users. Furthermore, Musk’s recent appointment to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” under Trump, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, reinforces the perception of X’s growing alignment with conservative interests.
As Bluesky’s popularity grows, it remains to be seen if this trend will be a temporary spike or a genuine threat to X’s dominance in the social media sphere.
Source: Swifteradio.com