Now is the time to visualize the herds storming across the dusty savannah and, in keeping with David Attenborough, proclaim that we are witnessing one of the natural world’s truly great and most majestic spectacles: the great migration.
It’s hard to understand why a million wildebeests in the Serengeti leave one pasture at the signal of rain and make a 1,250-mile circuit across one of the wonders of the natural world to the next. But when a new wave of X-users jumps ship to a rival network like Bluesky, the catalyst is pretty simple.
Since Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and later renamed it X, the everyday racism, extreme bigotry, malicious polemics, dog whistles, vile misinformation, dodgy porn bots, cynical scams, conspiracy theories and tiresome cryptocurrency drivel has become too much for some users of the site formerly known as Twitter to bear.
Since then, tolerance for intolerance has grown — last November, for example, X reinstated the account of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far-right firebrand known as Tommy Robinson — but the final straw for some users came this summer when X provided a hospitable environment for supporters of far-right rioters who rioted in the streets of Britain, prompting Musk himself to declare that a “civil war” was “inevitable” in the UK.
Musk is a staunch supporter of free speech wherever he agrees, but he went further than that with his condemnation of what he calls Britain’s “woke Stasi” for using social media to punish those who incite violence. The smell of fascist sludge is becoming overwhelming.
Back in the day, this site was something special. It had its fair share of trolls, but it also offered genuine humour and insight.
Millions of users hang on, out of hope or for more good reasons. But at some point, the sludge becomes too much to ignore. To borrow a phrase from the great Victor Lewis-Smith, it’s like having a urination area in your swimming pool. Appalled by the way Musk is using his platform to foster a safe space for hate speech, many British beachgoers have decided it’s time to get out, wash up, and find a new place to stay.
Bluesky, the platform I’ve been using for the past year, is still small, with around 6 million users compared to X’s 250 million daily users worldwide. But a spokesperson for my new home told me that nearly 25,000 UK users have joined Bluesky in the past 12 days, making the UK a global hotspot for new signups. Members of Parliament are also joining at a rapid clip. As a user, it feels like a more vibrant, more British space.
I still think the site was something special back then, when it was called Twitter. There were its fair share of trolls. Being a woman on the internet gives enlightening insight into society’s more primitive perspectives. The “block” and “mute” features were overused. But Twitter also brought genuine humor and insight. Twitter built real communities focused on sometimes esoteric areas of interest, often centered around true experts in those fields. I made friends and I listened. Twitter get-togethers were fun, and we had drinks. I know couples who met and married on the site.
The golden age for me was during the Euro Crisis a decade or so ago. Twitter moved markets, became must-read, shaped the narrative, analyzed every nuance of a nerdy debt restructuring in real time, and somehow made it all into a laughing stock. I was hooked, and secretly proud of my small sphere of influence. I was often told, “I love you on Twitter,” which was an irresistible ego boost. By the time I gave up, I had a pretty decent following for someone who specialized in cheesy finance jokes. My “vomiting camels” of technical market analysis remain my single most important contribution to the sum of human knowledge, even after more than 20 years in journalism.
But X itself became a lame joke. The trolls got louder, the sludge got dirtier. As X’s content moderation capabilities waned, the dog whistles turned into foghorns. My signal to leave was when I saw X host an interview between loudmouth right-wing mouthpiece Tucker Carlson and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate. I am a feminist first and foremost, and that is my red line in the “marketplace of ideas.” Martin, cab, I’m out. Ask yourself: if X were invented today in its current form, would you join?
Sure, you’ll miss the dopamine rush that comes with dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of retweets, but trust me, you’ll get through it.
To be clear, if you still hang on, I don’t think that necessarily makes you an active participant in a fascist project. Thousands of analysts, freelance journalists, and others need and rely on readers to make a living. Major publications, including the FT, benefit from that undoubted influence. Life is not perfect, and our daily consumption choices, whether intentional or not, often have negative external effects. I’m not here to preach or be egotistical.
Still, if Musk’s recent behavior has led you to conclude that it’s time to break up — and you really want to, not just be in a bad mood — then here is my guide to breaking up with an ex.
The key is to (almost) completely quit. Stop posting. Sure, you’ll miss the dopamine hit of getting dozens, hundreds, thousands of retweets for your witty remarks and comments, but trust me, you’ll get over it. I went from nearly 100,000 X followers on Bluesky to zero (now about 2,000) and decided to grow up. The key is to no longer contribute to a platform that is content and ad-hungry and condones a “both sides” approach to blatant racism.
Another important thing for a news junkie like me is to maintain an X account. This may be cheating, but it’s not an effort to keep my options open; rather, it’s a way of accepting reality. Nothing, let alone Bluesky, yet matches the scale and speed of news that X provides. When I was tracking the UK election results or Team GB’s Olympic medal tally, I used X’s search function, despite its prevalence of pornbot nonsense. It’s handy for tracking the occasional event; I just don’t post.
Third, whatever you use, accept the limitations of your new home. I chose Bluesky because I found Mastodon difficult to use and didn’t want to explore more extensively on Threads. Everyone has different preferences. In any case, don’t expect to jump from one fully formed community to another. Be patient.
To me, at least, Bluesky is reminiscent of Twitter circa 2013. It’s got some of the same people, and some of the same insights, banter, and jokes that were so addictive back then. But it’s smaller. Much smaller. I still often feel like I’m posting into a slightly smug, self-righteous void. I choose to hold onto the faith that Bluesky will grow.
Finally, if you do jump ship, as X has often mentioned elsewhere, don’t repeat the mistakes made on The Other Place. Don’t feed the trolls or try to change their minds. Life is too short to put up with abuse or turn a blind eye to harmful bullshit. Block early and often, but contribute. Help build something.
This may sound dramatic, but leaving X leaves a void in your life. It was only after I dumped X that I realized how much that hellish place supported my self-worth. It’s okay to mourn what became of it. Rival platform wannabes may fall into the same cesspit once they scale, and if they do, I’ll dump them too. Nu seems to end up back where it started, but I’ve never looked back. Trust me, there is life after X.
katie.martin@ft.com
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