Social media site reports surge in new UK users after Musk's riot comments

Social media platform Bluesky says it has seen a surge in signups in the United Kingdom in recent days.

Since X owner Elon Musk made controversial comments about the riots in the UK, a number of influential figures said they would leave the platform or scale back their use, including home office minister Jess Philips.

Now, Bluesky says it has seen a 60% jump in general activity from accounts in the UK, with several MPs also joining the platform recently.

"Hello everyone here… another potential alternative to that other place…," posted Labour MP Lewis Atkinson on the platform on Monday in his first post.

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Musk was accused of exacerbating tensions after days of far-right rioting in Britain triggered by online misinformation around the murder of three girls in northern England last month.

He began a spat with the prime minister when he posted saying civil war was "inevitable" in Britain, sparking calls for the government to roll out laws policing online content sooner.

"For 5 out of the last 7 days, the UK had the most Bluesky signups of any country," said Bluesky in a statement on Monday.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is one in a long list of apps that have been looking to replace X after Elon Musk's chaotic takeover of the company in late 2022.

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The platform was founded by then-Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who created it while still in his role at the social media giant.

Its format is similar to X, with a familiar timeline format. It is designed to be more transparent, however, and allows people outside of the company to see how it is built and what is being developed.

In July, Bluesky's monthly active user base stood at about 688,568, a fraction of X's base of 76.9 million, according to data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company.