The U.S. election is continuing to have an impact on the tech world. While the election results could bring trouble for social media and higher prices on tech items, and X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk was a big supporter of Donald Trump, X alternative Bluesky has had 700,000 new users this past week.
Migrating from X
It’s common knowledge that Musk supports Trump, leaving the public without shock, when he backed the former president in his 2024 bid. Musk also let Trump return to X after he’d been kicked off in 2021, when it was still known as Twitter.
Perhaps with the thought that Trump would again be leading the country via tweets, Bluesky earned 700,000 new users in the past week, with 14.5 million users total. Bluesky COO Rose Wang has confirmed that the majority of these new users are from the United States.
Bluesky ranks seventh among free apps, making it more popular than Instagram, Facebook, and, most notably, X. The number one free app? Threads, another X alternative.
Threads has also seen an influx of new users, but not as much as the mass exodus from X to Bluesky. But, of course, it’s already the number one app and has grown quickly, from 150 million users in April to 275 million now. It’s unknown whether this is because of people leaving X.
Those migrating away from X have noted that it was because of Mus, being a part of the Trump’s campaign and pushing those beliefs on the social network. Wang noted that what’s interesting to her is the diversity of the communities migrating to Bluesky. These include Taylor Swift and wrestling fans, as well as city planners.
What About Truth Social
There’s another social network that isn’t mentioned often, if at all: Truth Social. This was Trump’s own, one he created once he left Twitter. Yet, it’s failed to ever catch on, having been available since early 2022.
Comparing the figures, while Bluesky earned 700,000 new users in the past week, Truth Social has 611 million total users. The platform boasts free speech and fewer restrictions than other social networks.
While it’s been suggested that X and Truth Social will merge and become a meme stock, like Reddit, and that Trump will sell his social media company, he denies it. This is despite the fact that parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, has been bleeding money. As recently as August, neither X nor Truth Social were available on the App Store, but that availability has since been restored.
It’s easy to see why people would avoid both X and Truth Social if they are looking for a simple social media platform and not interested in the drama. If you’re looking to join the 700,000 others and leave X, learn how to delete your X account.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Laura Tucker.
