Social media platform Bluesky has reported a significant increase in signups in the United Kingdom over the past few days, indicating that Elon Musk's contentious remarks about the nationwide riots are driving users to seek alternatives to X. In an emailed statement on Monday, the company revealed a 60 percent rise in overall activity from UK accounts, with several Members of Parliament also joining the platform recently.
Musk has been criticized for intensifying tensions following days of far-right riots in Britain, which were sparked by online misinformation surrounding the murder of three girls in northern England last month. The Tesla CEO disseminated misleading information to his millions of followers, including a post implying that civil war in Britain was "inevitable," eliciting a response from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and calls for the government to expedite laws regulating online content.
"For 5 out of the last 7 days, the UK had the most Bluesky signups of any country," Bluesky stated. This newer entrant in the social media arena, which was once supported by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is among a plethora of apps vying to replace Twitter following Elon Musk's tumultuous acquisition of the company in late 2022.
In July, Bluesky's monthly active user base was approximately 688,568, a small fraction compared to X's 76.9 million users, according to data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company.
