Bluesky Surges in Popularity, Gaining Over 1 Million New Users After U.S. Election

Hundreds of thousands of users have reportedly left X in the past week, while over a million have joined Bluesky following the U.S. election results.

The shift away from X comes on the heels of changes made to the platform by its owner Elon Musk, which also includes promoting President-elect Donald Trump.

Musk’s controversial changes—such as cutting moderators, restoring banned accounts, allowing racist and extremist profiles, and overhauling the verification system to prioritise paid users—have also driven away advertisers.

Meanwhile, Bluesky, launched by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as an open and decentralized social media platform, has seen rapid growth.

The platform doubled its user base in 90 days, recently surpassing 15 million users, with 1 million new sign-ups last week alone.

Bluesky's appeal lies in its user-centric features, including customisable algorithms for personalised content feeds and handles tied to website domains, offering journalists and public figures a built-in verification tool.