Elon Musk's X (Twitter) is dying. BlueSky ahead

It's official: People are leaving Elon Musk's Twitter (a.k.a. "X") in droves. 

Tens of millions of users have abandoned the site, which Musk turned into a right-wing "partisan microphone" after buying it in 2022.

The popular destination is BlueSky. It's similar to Twitter, except that Musk doesn't control what you experience or see.

If you're already on BlueSky, here's where you can find us:

George Lakoff on BlueSky

Gil Duran on BlueSky

FrameLab on BlueSky

If you follow us, please let us know that you're a FrameLab subscriber so that we can follow you back.

The exodus to BlueSky is an excellent development. This means that tens of millions of people are refusing to let Musk frame the political debate.

As soon as Musk bought Twitter, his intentions were clear. In December 2022, I wrote that Musk was engaging in "algorithm warfare" and wanted to control as many brains as possible:

Musk is making a serious effort to seize as much power as possible in order to help define our political future. He's trying to spark a political communications revolution by seizing the digital public square and tilting the discourse toward ultra-conservative politics.

"This is a battle for the future of civilization," declared Musk on Nov. 29, and he's right about that.

His $44 billion purchase of Twitter had one key goal: to buy as much of your brain space as possible. The world's richest man has little interest in "free speech." What he wants is the power to control what the public hears, and to shape reality by turning the so-called "digital town square" into a privately-owned propaganda machine.

And this is exactly what happened. With Trump supporters unable to create a successful social media platform, Musk bought Twitter and transformed it into an information weapon that amplifies hate, lies and disinformation:

With American democracy under threat, Musk's Twitter is giving us a clear glimpse of the world he would like to see.

It's a world that empowers dictators, fascists, white supremacists, Nazis, disinformation and misinformation. It's a world in which billionaires enjoy total power over everyone else, and where straight white men hold dominion.

It's a world where people can no longer distinguish truth from lies because technology has sucked us all into the manipulative babble of Twitter. Musk seeks to create a dynamic where organized misinformation shares equal billing with respected journalism, and where people can't tell the difference between the two.

The only question is why this mass exodus didn't happen sooner. But, hey: Better late than never!

BlueSky v. Twitter

With a mass migration to BlueSky is underway, some argue that leaving Twitter is the wrong move. They say it's important to hear the perspectives of the political opposition, and that BlueSky users are shirking their duty as citizens to engage with MAGA in public forums. These arguments are cynical, silly and unscientific.

First, there's nothing to be gained by arguing with MAGAs and Musks. They aren't going to change their opinions, and you aren't going to change yours. But toxic online interactions can change your brain by making you angry and upset and by baiting you to engage in negative behaviors. As Jaron Lanier put it in Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now: "Social media is turning you into an asshole."

Second, Twitter is simply a business offering a service – a social media platform. Every person has the right to choose which products and services to use or avoid. MAGA social media platforms like Gab, Parler, and Truth Social failed because most people decided not to use them. By turning Twitter into an extremist site, Musk has created a product that many people would prefer to avoid. BlueSky has stepped in with a popular alternative.

Third, power should belong to people, not to billionaires like Elon Musk. Twitter became influential because citizens, journalists, writers, celebrities, protest movements, politicians, and companies decided to make it an important public forum. Musk bought the company, but he did not buy all of us.

If your favorite restaurant gets new ownership and the food quality takes a dive, you find a new favorite restaurant. The same goes for any technological product, platform, or service. If an information feed you once found helpful suddenly becomes a fountain of poisonous bigotry and fascist disinformation, you leave. Consumers make choices. That's how it works. Tens of millions of people are now taking their business elsewhere.

Of course, Twitter was more influential and powerful than a restaurant. For the past 15 years, it has had an outsized influence on politics. It became a powerful information tool. That's why Musk bought it – so that he could transform this tool into a weapon that distorts the public discourse and tilts the table toward extreme right-wing politics.

But Musk made the mistake of thinking that people can't live without Twitter. In reality, Twitter can't survive without the voices of the people who made it informative and enjoyable. As they migrate elsewhere, their audience and influence will follow. Elon Musk's Twitter will lose its power and fade away.

(And if you're not on social media: Great job!)

I'll have more to say on this as the situation develops.

FrameLab Podcast

We'll be recording a new episode of the FrameLab podcast next week. Any questions for Dr. Lakoff or me? Leave them in the comments or send them to gil@theframelab.org