The American social media platform Bluesky, touted as an alternative to X, announced on Friday it had registered one million new users in a single day as users turn away from Elon Musk’s platform.
“One million people have joined Bluesky in the last day! Welcome and thank you for being here,” the platform announced in a message posted on both Bluesky and X.
This record-breaking number comes shortly after Elon Musk, owner of X since October 2022, was named head of a new Department of Government Efficiency by US President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk, also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has officially endorsed the Republican candidate in his bid for the White House, providing financial backing to his campaign.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has significantly relaxed the platform’s moderation rules, allowing the return of accounts linked to far-right movements.
Earlier this week, British newspaper The Guardian and Spanish daily La Vanguardia announced they would no longer publish content on X, which they labelled a “toxic media platform” that spreads “disinformation.”
Originally created and funded by Twitter itself when it was led by co-founder Jack Dorsey, Bluesky launched to the public in February 2023 on Apple’s iOS operating system and in late March on Android. It is now headed by CEO Jay Graber.
The platform claims 16 million users, a significant growth from the 10 million it had in mid-September. It gained attention in late 2022 when Elon Musk acquired Twitter and renamed it X.
