Users flee Elon Musk's X for rival Bluesky amid rising concerns over hate speech, misinformation
Seattle: In a significant shift in the social media landscape, hundreds of thousands of users have reportedly left Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) in the past week, with over a million new users joining the rival platform Bluesky. The mass migration follows the results of the recent U.S. elections, with many citing increasing concerns over hate speech, misinformation, and the growing influence of Musk’s political affiliations on the platform.
Users have been gradually leaving the microblogging platform for several months, but this exodus appears to have accelerated in the wake of Musk’s ownership and his public support for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Critics argue that under Musk's leadership, X has evolved from a platform for open discourse to one that amplifies far-right views, raising concerns over free speech and the proliferation of harmful content.
With Musk now heading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration, his previous claims about maintaining platform neutrality seem increasingly outdated. In 2022, Musk stated, “For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally.” However, his actions and political ties in recent months have raised doubts about his commitment to this principle.
Bluesky, which began as an internal project led by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has emerged as a popular social media alternative, amassing 16 million users in a short time. Last week alone, the platform gained a million new users within 24 hours. While Bluesky’s user base still pales in comparison to X’s approximately 317 million active users, its appeal lies in its open and decentralised structure, which allows users greater control over the content they see and share.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
