Brazilians flock to Bluesky after court bans Elon Musk’s X

Social media site Bluesky registered almost two million new users in just four days as Brazilians flocked to the platform following the suspension of Elon Musk’s X by the country’s supreme court.
The platform launched in 2019 by Jack Dorsey, one of X’s co-founders, also topped the rankings of most popular apps on both the Google and Apple stores in Brazil.
The surge in Bluesky’s fortunes reflect the importance of social media in Brazil. More than 144 million people use at least one kind of platform and the nation frequently tops lists of countries that spend the most time online.
It also reflects the risks facing X from a prolonged ban in Brazil. With an estimated 20 million active users before the court order, the Latin American nation represented X’s sixth-largest market and an important source of advertising revenue.
The order from supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes to ban X followed a months-long public feud between the top judge and Musk over accounts that appear to be linked to far-right groups.
Mr Musk has repeatedly and publicly criticised the judge over what he sees as censorship requests to remove or suspend accounts. Judge Moraes, meanwhile, has framed his decisions as an effort to protect Brazilian democracy.
The platform was suspended after X refused to comply with a court deadline to appoint a legal representative – a requirement under the civil code – after Mr Musk earlier shut its Brazil office in protest against the judge.
The suspension of the site has divided opinion in Brazil, with right-wing figures criticising it as an attack on free speech, but left-wing politicians hailing it as a statement of national sovereignty.
“The ‘x’ of the matter is that Elon Musk needs to comply with the law. Just because he’s a billionaire doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to comply with the law,” vice-president Geraldo Alckmin told local media on Monday.
Despite the furore and the platform’s broader cultural appeal, X is used by only about 44 per cent of the country’s total online audience. This compares with 91 per cent for Instagram, 83 per cent for Facebook and 65 per cent for TikTok.
X is, however, widely used by politicians and has been embraced by right-wing figures since Musk’s purchase of the company two years ago.
“Twitter is not that popular when it comes to reaching the common Brazilian,” said David Nemer, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.
“However, it is the platform where you’re going to find journalists, professors, researchers, celebrities, companies and governments. You can find a lot of knowledge there. And it’s also an important platform for . . . politicians to engage the most with their potential voters.”
Bluesky, which now has eight million total users, hailed the influx of Brazilians to the site, saying the surge had set “new all-time highs for activity on the network”.
“We’re a Brazilian app now,” the company joked on its site.
Shortly after, the supreme court ordered Bluesky to suspend fake profiles that were imitating the court. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024.