Why it matters
Elon Musk is wielding his extraordinary power in increasingly harmful ways, actively promoting irresponsible messaging. X has become a breeding ground for hate, misinformation, and polarisation, all driven by the algorithms he controls. This has had real-world consequences, including rampant online harassment and even the incitement of recent UK riots through racism and disinformation.
Musk’s new algorithm also discourages sharing external links, making the platform even more exclusive. You now need an account to even see tweets, and DMs to non-mutuals are reserved for paying users. Having a voice is gradually becoming a perk for those who can pay, or those whose voice he wishes to amplify.
Musk has also dismantled essential safeguards like blue tick verification, moderation policies, the trust and safety team, and claims to be considering removing the blocking feature. These basic features are essential in maintaining a baseline of safety for users. If this is supposed to be the “world’s town square”, it’s certainly not one where everyone feels welcome, or even safe.
Isn’t it time we choose a better, more inclusive place to share our ideas and engage with others?
Twitter/X… stay or go?
Some have made the decision to come off Twitter/X altogether. Others feel they should continue to post because they have a large following there.
Many remain on Twitter/X because of what it once was—a unique and diverse place to get firsthand news, organise, create interesting dialogue, and engage with like-minded individuals—however, so much has changed.
There’s also a misconception that there isn’t a viable alternative. Changes to Twitter/X have made platforms like Bluesky not only competitive but arguably better. While it currently has a smaller user base, the millions who are there represent a valuable audience for civil society and ethical organisations—and many of them are no longer reachable on Twitter/X.
- Twitter/X no longer provides the benefits that once made it a thriving space, and Musk has made it clear he doesn’t intend to restore those qualities.
- So why not start investing our time in viable alternatives? Change happens when we create it. We are the ones who give the platforms their power.
We understand hesitation to leave a platform you’ve built up over time. But we’re not asking you to delete your account— not while there are still valuable connections to be maintained. However, have you noticed a drop in engagement with your posts? We certainly have. Since we aren’t conforming to Musk’s vision for X, our content is not being amplified. Meanwhile, the people who could benefit from your voice—such as journalists—are spending less time on the platform because it no longer serves their needs either. Instead, it’s become a hostile environment, filled with hate, misogyny, racism, and misinformation.
What can we do?
- Ensure everything available on Twitter/X is available on Bluesky. The layout and navigation is almost identical, so it takes just seconds to copy and paste.
- Tell your supporters what you’re doing and why (use our toolkit below if you want). Make sure they know they can get the same (if not better) experience by following you on Bluesky.
- Encourage your supporters, friends and family to do the same with their accounts and followers.
- You might want to use the hashtag #StopBeingComplicit to signal your solidarity and communicate that your content is also available on Bluesky.
- Encourage other organisations in your sector and networks to take the same action. By doing this collectively, we can soon start to influence major celebrities, politicians etc. to do likewise.
Why Bluesky?
There are a number of alternative platforms – and there’s no harm in posting on several of them. But it’s beneficial if we all commit to using at least one consistently.
Bluesky was originally developed in partnership with Twitter/X. The aim was to develop an open-source standard foundation for social media apps, so that any apps on it could interoperate and users could move between them freely.
However, when Elon Musk took over Twitter/X he severed this partnership. Bluesky then continued alone, eventually launching a rival platform that emulated much of Twitter/X’s original concept (you can see how the logo is very similar). The transition from Twitter/X to Bluesky (or use of both) is therefore very easy, and many find the current community culture and navigation of Bluesky reminiscent of “the good old days of Twitter”.
Another Twitter/X rival is Threads. This started earlier than Bluesky, so currently has higher numbers. However Threads isn’t designed for news or advocacy work to perform well. Users search for people rather than topics, meaning our posts are likely to only reach our existing followers. Consequently, some new users highlight the dullness of threads as it actively discourages current affairs and issue-based discussions, which is what ‘Twitter quitters’ are looking for.
Threads is part of the Meta platform, and strongly integrated with Instagram. It can be a useful part of our communications portfolio but isn’t really an effective alternative to Twitter/X for us.
There is also Mastodon. This too can provide a useful function for those with a particular need. However, it is considerably more complex to use, and the shift from Twitter/X less intuitive. It is a decentralised network – a federation of communities, each with unique rules and moderation – and users choose which one they want to be part of. In short, it can be useful, but it’s more nuanced, and generally a different kind of thing.
There are also others, but Bluesky currently stands out as the most natural direct alternative to Twitter/X. Its creators are intentionally fostering a vibrant and diverse community, with a strong focus on dialogue and meaningful conversations, as well as the more fun twitter bits.
There have been surges of migrations to Bluesky in the UK following Elon Musk’s engagement with the racist riots; 3.5 million new users from Brazil, after Twitter/X was banned there, and following Trump’s election on the 6th November, of which Musk was and will remain a key player.
Collectively we have great power. Let’s show solidarity with each other and build a movement that defeats this harmful social media monopoly.
** Consider this web page open source. You are welcome to copy or adapt any of it for use under your own brand. This is all about our collective power! **
Toolkit:
Statement for your website
Here is our starter kit full of people who you might find useful to follow
Bio suggesting people follow you on Bluesky
Tweet announcing you will be posting on Bluesky
Other starter kits:
Other interesting resources to reflect on:
