By Krystal Scanlon  •  November 14, 2024  •

Ivy Liu

Just look at the numbers from the days around the election. Polarization surged, with the likes of Elon Musk’s X and Trump’s own Truth Social on one side, while the likes of Bluesky and Threads sit on the other.

Comparing user figures across iOS and android on Election Day compared to one month prior, according to data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb:

• X saw an average of 32.5 million users on Election Day, up from 31.2 million the month prior (Oct. 5)
• Truth Social saw 162,000 on Election Day, up from 110,000 on Oct. 5
• Bluesky saw 743.9K on Election Day up from 265.9K on Oct. 5
• Threads reached 4.3 million users, a small increase from 4.2 million on Oct. 5

Similarly, when looking at web traffic on Nov. 5, according to Similarweb:

• X saw 42.3 million visits, a 31% increase from Oct. 5
• Truth Social received 981.5K, a 361% increase
• Bluesky witnessed 828,000 , a 233% increase
• Threads received 981.5K, a 35% increase

Bluesky is reported to have gained an extra 700,000 new users in the last week since the election, most of which are from the U.S and the U.K. It brings the decentralized platform’s total user numbers to more than 14.5 million users, up from 9 million users in September.

And Meta’s Adam Mosseri posted that the platform had crossed the 275 million monthly active user mark on Threads two days before the election. That’s a 37.5% increase from the 200 monthly active users that was reported during the company’s second quarter earning’s call.

But as Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis pointed out, new users in a flurry of election digital activism may not be users for life. “The real active users of these networks are still in the millions, as they are the fringes for whom politics is the number one concern,” he added.

Still, it’s no stretch to say that the flavor of political discourse on these platforms (or lack thereof) played a role in driving engagement over the last week or so. Social media’s power to craft tailored realities and tell users exactly what they want to hear remains potent. But unlike previous elections, where platforms wielded indomitable influence over the narrative, it’s fair to say the tables have turned. Now, it’s politics reshaping the platforms. 

That’s especially true for Musk’s X. In the lead up to the election, Musk turned his platform into a personal megaphone, endorsing, campaigning for, and celebrating Trump’s presidential bid and victory. This over politicization has alienated some users, and it pushed them toward competitors like Bluesky and Threads. It could also be why the platform saw more than 115K account deactivations the day after the election, according to Similarweb. Still, Musk’s megaphone also boosted engagement on X for those users who are happy to remain, if the platform’s own data is any indication.

His platform reported “record high” usage around the election, with internal data claiming 942 million posts between Nov. 5 and 6. For context, X had previously noted 500 million posts per day in sentiment of last year, while active mobile user engagement hit a record 339 billion seconds in January.

What’s clear is that a swath of social media users find themselves in flux, shifting between platforms or considering doing so as politics reshapes the discourse. This could spell opportunity for Musk, given his ties to Trump. Equally, it presents a chance for other platforms to gain traction by steering clear of such overt political alignment. And in particular, platforms such as Bluesky and Threads, which from their beginnings, have specifically positioned themselves and their narratives as being alternative, opposite platforms to X; happier places to interact without the barrage of politically skewed rhetoric.

Bluesky, for example, is a decentralized platform, meaning users can interact with users on different platforms, provided they’re built on the same protocol foundations. But, more importantly, it means users have more control over their data and interactions.

Threads is also in the process of becoming Meta’s first decentralized platform as the team works to integrate it with social networking protocol ActivityPub. Unlike X, Threads doesn’t focus on “real time” posts, but instead its algorithm, just like on Meta’s other platforms, recommends posts it believes users want to see more of.

“This more recent post-election exodus is more about political fatigue,” said Christopher Spong, associate director, social media and communications at Collective Measures. “Users who have transitioned to new channels are seeking a place to continue conversations and follow topics without the inundation of cultural hot-takes from wannabe political pundits.”

Truth Social did not respond to Digiday’s request for comment.

https://digiday.com/?p=560362