More than 700,000 people have joined the social media app Bluesky since last week’s US election, the firm has revealed.
The sudden surge in new users, who mostly come from the US, appears to have been prompted by Elon Musk’s endorsement of president-elect Donald Trump.
As the owner of X (formerly Twitter), Mr Musk has been accused of altering the platform’s algorithm in order to boost pro-Trump content.
Recent analysis of the social media platform – which the tech billionaire acquired in 2022 – showed that his posts saw a sudden increase in views and engagement shortly after he began endorsing Mr Trump in July.
Bluesky, which was created by former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, has positioned itself as an alternative to X since Mr Musk’s takeover and saw a massive influx of new users after X was banned in Brazil in September.
Bluesky membership has grown from 9 million to 14.5 million since then, with the US election fueling another wave of new users.
“We’re excited to welcome all of these new people, ranging from Swifties to wrestlers to city planners,” said Bluesky spokesperson Emily Liu.
Among those leaving X for alternative platforms are academics, according to a study published last month.
Researchers at the European University Institute in Italy found that the number of active accounts associated with people in academia dropped significantly following Mr Musk’s acquisition.
Under his ownership, X has changed its verification process, reinstated banned accounts, and allowed blocked users to view people’s posts.
“Each of these changes influenced the broader social-network characteristics in ways that are not yet fully understood, quantitatively, but which entailed a shift in the user experience that we colloquially refer to as ‘vibes.’,” the researchers noted in their study.
“We argue that a combination of these features of the threat and then the reality of Musk’s ownership of the Twitter corporation influenced academics either to quit Twitter altogether or at least reduce their engagement with the platform.”
At the same time, Bluesky’s popularity has been boosted by improved functionality and new features like direct messages and video support.
