After the recent US presidential election, Taylor Swift’s fans, known as Swifties, have been abandoning the social media platform X in favor of Bluesky. This shift is due to X’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, being a major supporter of Donald Trump. Musk has not only donated over $100 million to the Trump-supporting America PAC, but also actively campaigned for Trump and promoted his messaging on X. This has caused Swifties, who have a strong presence on the platform, to take notice and start leaving in droves.
One Swiftie, Justin, who goes by @justin-the-baron.swifties.social on Bluesky, expressed his desire to distance himself from Musk and his support for Trump. He states, “Elon is of course a big Trump supporter, which doesn’t align with Taylor’s values or the values of Swifties.” While there are Swifties with varying political beliefs, the community prides itself on being a positive and accepting space. They have even mobilized to support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, whom Swift herself endorsed on Instagram. This endorsement was in response to AI-generated images of Swift and her fans being used by Trump to falsely imply her support.
Musk’s response to Swift’s endorsement was met with backlash from Swifties, including Irene Kim, an organizer with Swifties for Harris. She explains that the misogyny and hate speech on X following the election pushed her and many others to leave the platform and seek refuge on Bluesky. Research has shown that hate speech and disinformation increased on X after Musk took over, and the election of Trump only intensified it. A report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found a 4,600% increase in phrases like “Your body, my choice,” which were used by white supremacist Nick Fuentes on election night.
Kim also mentions X’s recent update to the “block” feature, which has made the platform a more negative experience for users. She states, “Twitter has definitely become such a hellscape.” Justin, who has been on Bluesky for over a year, primarily used X until this week. He explains that after the election, his timeline was filled with Swifties receiving harassing DMs from Trump supporters. As an expert tech journalist, it is clear that the toxic environment on X has driven Swifties to seek a new community on Bluesky.
