On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk would co-lead the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk purchased X back in 2022 and since owning the company, all hell has broken loose on the app.
Stay Outta Black Businesses’ Business
Musk took over Twitter with promises to promote free speech. However, Associated Press reported an explosion in usage of the n-word on the platform just hours after Musk’s $44 billion takeover was completed.
Musk also used X to heavily support Trump in the presidential election, appearing at his rallies and giving millions of dollars to fundraising efforts. His overwhelming support led to a role in Trump’s modern government. With the way X has been going, is it time for Black folks to finally leave it for good?
Last month, The Root reported Kerry Washington threw a major investment into SPILL, a Black-owned Twitter alternative created by Alphonzo Terrell. Today, media personality Don Lemon shared that he will be leaving X permanently.
“I once believed [X] was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
As folks continue to quit the app, political commentator and Root 100 honoree Bakari Sellers noted that the bots that were spreading right-wing rhetoric on it have seemingly disappeared after the election.
Sellers’ observation may be true and could aid encourage Black users to stay on X. However, the Guardian has reported that social media platform Bluesky has gained more than 700,000 modern users in the week since the election.
A surge in users from both North America and the UK has helped Bluesky reach 14.5 million users worldwide, a 5.5 million boost since September. The app is now only second to Threads, which reported having 275 million monthly dynamic users in November—a 75 million boost since August.
Prominent Black voices, like that of journalist and author Evette Dionne, made it a point to leave X before the election. Others, like theologian and author Candice Benbow, were planning on leaving X eventually but the election expedited that process.
If things keep trending the way the are, X will continue to lose Black users who’ve effectively made the app what it is today. In early September, Trump had discussed the creation of a government efficiency commission as part of his modern economic plans.
At the time, he stated Musk had agreed to lead it if he were to win the presidential election.
