Brazilian ban on X spurs increase in number of users of competing social media platforms

(MENAFN) The recent ban of the social media platform X in Brazil has triggered a significant shift in internet users toward alternative platforms like BlueSky and Threads, with Portuguese emerging as the predominant language on these sites. The ban, which came into effect on August 30, followed a prolonged dispute between X’s owner, Elon Musk, and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes. The judge ordered the ban due to X's repeated disregard for judicial directives aimed at combating misinformation, despite its large user base of 22 million in Brazil, which represents over 10 percent of the country's population.

In the wake of the ban, many Brazilian users have migrated to BlueSky, a platform developed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, which saw its user count more than double in just a few days, reaching over 2 million new users. Before the ban, BlueSky had fewer than 6 million users. Similarly, the launch of Threads by Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram, has attracted attention, with Google searches for the platform increasing fourfold since the ban on X. Although Threads, currently used by 190 million people globally, did not provide specific figures on new user registrations since the ban, the surge in interest indicates a notable shift in the social media landscape. Users like student Leon Leal have expressed a preference for these new platforms, finding them to be more welcoming and less hostile compared to their previous experience on X.
 

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