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Efficiency under the Trump administration, his previous claims about maintaining platform neutrality seem increasingly outdated.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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Sensex, Nifty rebound after days of downtrend
Mumbai, Nov 19: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Tuesday after days of downtrend on value-buying at lower levels and rally in blue-chip stocks HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and M&M.
Continuous buying by domestic institutional investors also supported the indices, traders said.
Snapping its four days of decline, the BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 239.37 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 77,578.38. However, fag-end decline in Reliance Industries restricted the market rally. During the day, it zoomed 1,112.64 points or 1.43 per cent to 78,451.65.
The NSE Nifty also bounced back after falling in the past seven trading days. It went up by 64.70 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 23,518.50.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Titan, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid and Infosys were the biggest gainers.
In contrast, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,403.40 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,330.56 crore, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher.
European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended mostly higher on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.25 per cent to USD 73.12 a barrel.
The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 241.30 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 77,339.01, registering its fourth day of decline on Monday. Falling for the seventh day in a row, the Nifty dipped 78.90 points or 0.34 per cent to 23,453.80.
Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE have declared a trading holiday on November 20 for assembly elections in Maharashtra.
