‘X’ turns dark, and the Sky turns Blue

Dec 13, 2024 | Bylines, News

The move from X to Bluesky – a lesson on how progressives can take back control, Bremain Vice Chair Lisa Burton writes for Yorkshire Bylines. 

There’s been much made of the mass shift from X to Bluesky, and the reaction from the disruptors, abusers and far right has been telling. There is a sense of panic because they know something we don’t admit: we, the progressives, feed them, and that is where the opportunity lies.

Although not a new idea, if enacted en masse, it could be one of the most powerful weapons that liberal progressives have. It doesn’t need any billionaire oligarchs’ funding – but more about that later.

How X went dark

Since Elon Musk bought X (formerly Twitter), the social media site has been turned into a platform for abuse, misogyny, conspiracy theories and racism. It was the site’s fast-moving, second-by-second news and its ecosystems of like-minded individuals, organisations, and followers built up over many years that held people there, but now the vilest abuse no longer gets taken down, and people can post blatant, dangerous misinformation and outrageous lies with little or no comeback. Free speech on X means freedom to abuse, threaten and lie with impunity.

We are not talking about robust debate here or differing opinions. I have been a pro-EU, anti-Brexit, and equality campaigner for many years. I engage with social media personally and have tweeted for the pro-EU group Bremain in Spain for many years, continuously engaging with opposing ideas and conflict. Still, X has now gone well beyond this and everyday discourse.

Here is a post from Dawn Butler, a black female Labour MP – these are not one-off, rare comments. She exposes these weekly. Warning – extreme racist language.

You can be financially rewarded for abuse, disinformation and racism on X

Blue ticks on Twitter/X were once a sign of a trusted account. Twitter gave ticks to journalists and verified, trustworthy organisations. Now, anyone can buy a blue tick, which increases their engagement. Their replies float to the top of threads, and no matter the quality of a posts or response, they will be rewarded because they are paying Musk for the privilege. A paid account with 50 followers could get more impressions on a reply than one with 5,000. This system has created an unequal community.

Some users on X who spend their days sharing content that includes misinformation, misogyny, AI-generated images, and unfounded conspiracy theories are paid thousands. One man who was convicted of inciting racial hatred during the UK summer race riots was earning £1,400 a month from sharing his posts on X with his 90,000 followers. Imagine what Tommy Robinson gets with his one million followers.

A recent analysis showed that 74% of the most viral Israel/Hamas war disinformation posts came from ‘verified’ blue tick accounts. These people and accounts are radicalising minds with memes. It would be funny if it weren’t so deeply sad and dangerous.

Preach. The greatest danger to democracy has always been weaponized disinformation.

Why? Because "those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities" – Voltaire

And no, free speech won't save us, Germans enjoyed free speech during the rise of Nazism –>

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— greenplanet.bsky.social (@greenplanet.bsky.social) 7 December 2024 at 04:37

The experience on X and Bluesky is like chalk and cheese. X is more like Donald Trump’s Truth Social, and Bluesky is more like the Twitter of old, as it was originally a research initiative within Twitter, with Jack Dorsey involved until earlier this year.

It feels like X but is fundamentally different. Bluesky launched in February 2023 as an invite-only service; however, it only started to take off after Trump’s election, garnering around one million users daily.

Whilst Musk, a self-proclaimed lover of ‘free speech’ who, after a Biden tweet outperformed his, had his posts on X boosted by algorithms to get 1,000 times more reach than anyone else’s (yes,his ego is that fragile), started corrupting the space with blatant misinformation. When this and interference exploded during the US election, it was a final straw for many. Even Musk’s artificial intelligence, Grok, labelled him as one of the leading spreaders of misinformation on the social media platform.

There is no debate, and there is no nuance. Often, replies are a stream of childish one-liners, bullying, derogatory remarks and, honestly, mainly downright stupid responses. It’s now a place where angry playground bullies, with little intellect but armed with grubby fingers and a keyboard, have been elevated above all.

X has become so bad that many organisations are leaving for ethical reasons. The Guardian were amongst the first, along with the Green Party and a surge of publishers . Bluesky doesn’t penalise link sharing, and publishers report 3- 4x higher engagement and conversions on Bluesky than on other platforms.

So, what can and should we do?

As much as possible, we need to starve those who have been elevated to their positions by supporting division, dehumanisation, deceit and racism, of the oxygen that enables them to push their political discourse, which, at its core, is intentionally constructed to inflame, anger and divide us as a society. Stop and remember that your interaction will bring them financial rewards and boost their engagement. Is that what we want?

All of us who use social media for campaigning know that crossing that divide and getting traction from ‘the other side’ gives us more reach and clicks.Well, it works the other way too. Without us, their spread and engagement would sink, and they would be left to preach in their hate bubbles, speaking only to their radicalised flock

Take on the media that platforms them

If we were to take this to the next level, we shouldn’t engage online with the media outlets that feature them. Let’s take the example of the BBC having Nigel Farage on Question Time for a record-breaking 38th time. Let’s face it: they don’t host him because of journalistic integrity, his intellect, or for balance, but because divisive people drive divisive commentary between opposing sides, and therefore clicks – and these days, it’s all about the clicks. BBC Question Time social media posts get the most traction from people who disagree with him being there in the first place.

Just look at the comments on this post (which include some you may find offensive). They are almost all from people who disagree with Farage being platformed again. The clips that are then generated from the show gain even more traction.

 

Take action, feel better about yourself

Bluesky has reminded us of how things used to be before the rage and division entered our politics. The users and abusers are not there in any numbers or with power. They can come but can’t get away with posting blatant misinformation, racism, misogyny or attacking the LGBTQ communities. We don’t miss them; everyone is saying how wonderful it is. The conversation is more intellectual, thoughtful and friendly, including disagreements. Here is where we find a calm reminder that things don’t have to be like they are.

Ignoring antagonists is, I know, easier said than done. I am guilty as charged when it comes to engaging with divisive characters like Tommy Robinson, Andrew Tate, Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, etc. I have written about some of them, and of course, some, including campaigners and journalists, need to stay informed of these people’s actions.

But I also recognise and admit I am emotionally triggered by abusive content and get drawn into calling out misinformation, racism, misogyny, lies, and corruption, all the while knowing and understanding that this is what certain inflammatory posts are meant to do. We are playing right into the hands of those seeking to provoke – becoming entangled in their game with their rules. Therefore the best thing to do is block or mute so you don’t even encounter the content in the first place. Ask yourself: “Am I responding to this because I am angry? Will my comment change anything or inform anyone’s opinion, or am I just boosting this post’s engagement?” 

When it comes to engagement with some of the more extreme followers of figures like Farage or Robinson; most of us know we aren’t going to change their minds. Those who have already fallen for what many would describe as their scapegoating and othering of minority communities can be very immune to alternative points of view – especially when expressed on social media

Our political environment is now consumed by rage and anger, and we must accept we are being played into fuelling it. By commenting, we will only drive engagement on such posts and cause an adverse emotional reaction in ourselves. So, give it a go. Block, mute, and disengage. It’s a guarantee that they will miss you a lot more than you will miss them and you will feel a whole lot better for it too.