Bluesky Gains After X Changes How Blocking Works

Elon Musk’s controversial ownership of X seems to be continuing the increase in signups for rival platform Bluesky.

Last week X had tweeted that it will be launching a change to how the block function works on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Essentially, the change will mean that blocking a user on X will no longer actually block users from viewing a person’s posts.

Now essentially a block on X will mean that a blocked user can’t interact with a person’s posts. However, the blocked user can still see them “allowing for greater transparency”. This was not the case before this change.

Soon we’ll be launching a change to how the block function works.

If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.).

— Engineering (@XEng) October 16, 2024

Bluesky sign-ups

But this change seems to have resulted in fed up users appearing to flee X once again and sign up for Bluesky in record numbers.

Last Thursday Bluesky announced that it had gained half a million new users in the 24 hours since X made the formal announcement about the blocking change.

This now means that Bluesky has passed 12 million people on the platform, which is still a long way behind X’s 600 million plus monthly active users.

However it means that Bluesky is now the third largest micro-blogging type social media platform behind X and Meta’s Threads.

Unlike its larger rivals, Bluesky is registered as a public benefit corporation and touts itself as a decentralised social media platform.

Musk’s behaviour

On the surface, it seems that Elon Musk’s controversial behaviour is driving an increase in sign-ups on rival social networking platforms.

For example, when Brazil banned X from operating in the country last month due to Elon Musk’s refusal to comply with its laws, Bluesky witnessed another surge in user growth.

In just one week, Bluesky gained 3 million new users – growing its total to 10 million users.

Prior to that Elon Musk had clashed with the British government, after he made a series of controversial (and some allege incendiary) interventions in the recent riots in the UK triggered by online misinformation around the murder of three girls.

Musk suggested that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, in reference to the riots, which resulted in the British government calling on Musk to act responsibly over his tweets.

Musk then repeated slammed the UK government in tweets, and during his clash with the UK government, Musk repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Kier Starmer, branding him “two-tier Keir”.

Musk later shared a fake news post from a far right organisation, about deporting rioters to the Falkland Islands, before he hurriedly deleted it without apologising – an action Musk has done previously when caught out promoting false conspiracy theories.

Far from being deterred, Musk then hit out at the UK government after he was conspicuously not invited to the International Investment Summit of major investors being held in the UK.

Musk’s clash with the UK government saw Bluesky telling media outlets that it had seen a surge in signups in the United Kingdom in recent days – in a further sign that Elon Musk’s controversial comments are prompting people to look for alternatives to X.