This week could have been better for the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. In the past two years, the network has evolved from what it once was. Some major news outlets left X, including the much revered Guardian newspaper. This also encouraged many users from Europe and the US to jump ship to other platforms.
For me, with this came a sense of relevancy. And then I saw what X has become. Not the envisioned town hall, as a right-wing network as Elon Musk its head. The responses from the Guardian’s departure were naturally highly critical, ranging from not wanting to hear the truth to being communist. Many also repeated Musk’s comment that announcing your departure from X is unnecessary, as it is not an airport.
The dynamic has changed rapidly, with Elon Musk becoming a political figure, likely to be significant for the incoming Trump administration. But my concerns and the decision to leave X wasn’t exclusively motivated by Trump but rather by his supporters, and the type of people X attracts.
Why its game over, and its significance
In moments like this, you realise this is game over for the platform. If you consider its dwindling user base, you understand why. The mood has certainly changed. Hate and conspiracy theories have been allowed to propagate under Musk’s tenure as supreme ruler.
This is what happens when a right-wing conspiracy theorist purchases a social media network for their political gain. The network has been slowly evolving in front of our own eyes into a club for his followers. From his recent role in Trump’s campaign, we have already seen that he is not a vision. He is an opportunist. He bought himself a role in the next Trump administration. He achieved this by funding Trump’s campaign. Additionally, he ran a lottery paying voters $1m to encourage people to register to vote.
Because of Musk’s role in the incoming Trump administration, we must honestly ask ourselves if we want to remain in this club—one that has the potential to become a government propaganda tool, one from a government that may have a fundamental impact on the world in the next four years.
The financial impact of its acquisition
From a financial perspective, since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, it has currently lost 78% of its value, now being valued at approximately $9bn. This shows that perhaps he wasn’t the business tycoon we thought he was. Perhaps X as a social platform is dying, with users moving on. Social media platforms rely on a growing user base to remain profitable.
What are the alternatives?
As X slowly evolves into a toxic platform, there are certainly alternatives. There are many rivals that are vying to replace it. There is of course, threads which continues that theme of a centralised approach that is a spin off from Instagram. Although it does have that necessary connection to the Fediverse, although others take a far more open approach.
Another replacement is Bluesky. This is an interesting option, as it does have its early origins in Twitter before its acquisition. This is more used focused and it is known for have a decentralised approach as others can start a Bluesky server of their own, although outside of the Fediverse. It also done have the appearance of how Twitter once looked.
Mastodon has the most user focused approach, relying mainly on third party servers. This means it can be hosted by others, taking a far more decentralised approach than Bluesky has. With links to the Fediverse, and has a truly approach that cannot be bought by billionaires.
It is important to know there are alternatives, and in these trying times we must understand the importance of truth, science and facts in these times of uncertainty. We must remember, above all, that we can have social media not dominated by populist figures and their followers.
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