Brazilians flock to Bluesky and Threads after X suspension
social media platforms such as Threads or Bluesky, where Portuguese has become the most spoken language in the few days since Elon Musk's X was shut down in the country.
«Is anyone there?» asked numerous Brazilian netizens as they made their first tentative forays onto Bluesky, which said it had added more than two million new users since South America's largest nation banned X.
Access to the social network formerly known as Twitter was blocked on Saturday amid a standoff between Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has made it his mission to crack down on disinformation.
The powerful and controversial judge took the measure after Musk, who calls himself a «free-speech absolutist,» ignored a series of court decisions.
Bluesky, a social media network created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, now counts 7.6 million users since the X suspension in Brazil.
Meanwhile, searches in Brazil for the term «Threads» have quadrupled since the ban.
The social network launched a little over a year ago by Meta — which also owns Facebook and Instagram — has 190 million users worldwide.
Threads did not respond to AFP requests for comment on new users since X went off the air.
However, both applications were among the most downloaded in Brazil in recent days, according to the Google Play Store.
— 'More welcoming' -
«I feel like I've entered a more welcoming and less aggressive community, even if I miss the sincerity that was on X,» said Leon Leal, a student who has turned to Threads after a
