X sees largest user exodus since Musk takeover

Users are exploring alternatives like Bluesky and Threads.

On the day after the election, Nov. 6, X experienced its largest user exodus since Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022. And now, users are flooding to alternative text-based social media apps like Bluesky and Instagram’s Threads.

Those numbers appear to be climbing, as users and brands like The Guardian and Don Lemon continue to announce their departures from the platform.

NBC News spoke to six people who have joined or committed to using Threads and Bluesky in place of X after the election because of Musk. Each of them cited growing issues on X, including bots, partisan advertisements and harassment, which they all felt reached a tipping point when Donald Trump was elected president last week with Musk’s support. Musk has since joined Trump on calls and in meetings to weigh in on his transition to president. 

For Kara Wurtz, a 39-year-old finance director in St. Louis, the day after the election was the “final straw.” After using Twitter for “a good eight years,” Wurtz said under Musk’s leadership, the platform, renamed X, “became a place where I wasn’t really getting what I wanted out of it anymore.” 

“Every time I opened it up, it would throw things at me that put me in a bad mood,” she told NBC News. “I noticed Tuesday night into Wednesday I started to see a lot more anti-woman stuff. And I was like, ‘You know what? That’s personal. I’m done.’”

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/x-sees-largest-user-exodus-musk-takeover-rcna179793

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