(NewsNation) — Social media site Bluesky says it’s gained more than 1 million new users since the presidential election.
Some users say they want an alternative to X — formerly Twitter — since its owner Elon Musk is poised to join President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is reminiscent of Twitter’s early days. It has a similar layout, feel and search functions.
The site has become a safe space of sorts for left-leaning celebrities and people turned off by X’s politics.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey launched Bluesky in 2019, but it’s seen a surge in users migrating to the platform since Trump’s presidential election victory. The company says it gained more than 1.5 million users in the past week.
Bluesky’s trajectory
Bluesky’s CEO told NewsNation its growth “marks a new era of social media — one where users are put first.”
Although the platform is growing, it still trails X and Meta’s Threads in terms of active users. Bluesky just surpassed 15.5 million users.
The platform features user-created custom feeds, meaning people control what they see, similar to X’s lists function. Bluesky creators also say the site has anti-toxicity features that protect users against harassment and dogpiling.
Outlets, like the Guardian, that are boycotting X have flocked to Bluesky, as have TV personalities like Mark Cuban and Don Lemon.
What about X, Truth Social?
NewsNation media contributor Colby Hall says while Bluesky may feel more civil now, he fears it will keep people in partisan information bubbles.
There’s also Trump’s app, Truth Social, which the president-elect turned to before his account was reinstated on X.
Some have speculated that Trump may merge Truth Social with X. Both sites are worth billions of dollars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
