Words by Harriet Curzon
More than 23 million UK adults held a Twitter account in 2023 – that’s almost half of all over 18s. It was never a perfect platform, but historically it was an important and influential digital space, acting as a trusted news source and digital town square that offered a variety of voices and views.
Yet, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022 marked a dramatic shift in the platform’s policies, operations, and culture. In a move that shocked many, he completely rebranded the beloved app. From slashing 50% of X’s workforce to unblocking accounts which had spread misinformation, Musk has moulded the app into what seems like his own personal digital playground..
The newly christened X has fostered an environment of one-sided false narratives and extremism, exacerbated by Musk’s scorn for any form of moderation. His recent declarative post, “You are the media now. X what you know. X what you hear. X what you see.” reads more like a dystopian rallying cry reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984 than a strapline for his rebrand.
His attempts at shaping contemporary media have been ill-received from day one. Big names like Disney and Apple promptly left the platform. In response, Musk, rather charmingly, told them to “go f*** yourself”. The company is now haemorrhaging users, with advertising revenue and brand value plummeting from USD5.7 billion in January 2022 to USD 673.3 million in 2024. The final straw for many users has appeared to be the showcase of Musk’s and Donald Trump’s camaraderie, which made people rethink the use of his platform. It is not surprising that the platform has seen a deprecation in value of 80%.
Enter Bluesky – a digital haven created by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. With its daily user base growing by 73% in the week following the election, and a lot of attention in the news, it seems ready to step up as a decentralised Twitter clone. Many Bluesky users see the platform as a revival of Twitter’s golden days — it looks like Twitter, walks like Twitter, and quacks like Twitter. But is it truly the solution we’ve been waiting for?
The problem is that not everyone is leaving, but the fact that it’s a left leaning majority that is leaving. If this continues, we could be looking at a future of extreme social polarisation. Those who are unfazed by Musk tend to lean right, and the situation at current proposes the possibility of an unprecedented digital schism.
If X retains its right-leaning base, and Bluesky attracts the lefties, we risk creating the formation of two echo chambers of discourse, one for the right, and one for the left. With X proving to be lacking in fact-checking and moderation, an environment of extreme right-wing views could snowball. But the same could be the same for Bluesky and its unchallenged left narratives. In a place where confirmation bias thrives, hysteria can easily spread, driving social polarisation with limited interaction between opposing ideologies. This is a concerning trend – it’s better to be challenged on your views even if the opposing opinion feels abhorrent.
Bluesky must take steps to appeal to a diverse range of users: even if it seems less threatening, a left-wing echo chamber is no more productive than the opposite created by Elon Musk. After all, there is a chance for the two platforms to coexist harmoniously. But between the uncanny resemblance, and bitterness and pettiness of those involved it is not looking likely.
We might not like the presence of opposing ideologies on our feed, but social media needs debate and diversity for meaningful discourse. So, here’s to hoping that Bluesky can seize X’s digital crown and become a healthy, productive space for robust conversation and avoid becoming a mirror image of its competitor.
