The great Xodus has begun. 

Thousands of frustrated users have fled the site in recent weeks, bound for the “promised land” of rival app Bluesky. 

And it’s not just users. The Guardian, which has nearly eleven million followers on the platform, has also binned their account.

In just four years, X (formerly Twitter) has become a haven for far-right conspiracy theories and casual racism. In the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” 

How did we get here? 

Read more on this story:

It’s a tale of ego and power and mind-numbing wealth. But it starts with a laptop. 

Flashback to October 2020. Covid-19 raged as racial justice protests took over American cities. With a presidential election just three weeks away, the political environment was tense. 

Then the New York Post, a prominent tabloid, published a salacious set of stories, alleging personal and professional misconduct by Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

The Post purported to have found this information on the hard drive of the younger Biden’s laptop, abandoned at a computer repair store in Delaware. The article caused a stir on social media, as questions were raised over the legitimacy of the accusations. 

Twitter bosses gave The Post an ultimatum — delete a series of tweets referencing the story or be banned from the platform. They refused, and The Post’s account was suspended for two weeks, a verdict executives later said was a “mistake.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (pictured) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will run the Department of Government Efficiency. (Image: PA)

This decision provided added fodder for right-wing pundits and politicians, who accused the platform of trying to protect Joe Biden and his campaign. 

Enter Elon Musk. The enigmatic South African-American billionaire rocketed to fame in the early 2010s, serving at the helm of tech giants Tesla and SpaceX. Once a political moderate who regularly voted for Democrats, Musk’s views have shifted rightwards in recent years. 

In April 2022, Musk, 53, announced plans to acquire Twitter for 44 billion dollars. At the same time, he slammed the company for restricting The Post’s story, which he said was an “incredibly inappropriate” decision.

Two years later, the so-called “free speech absolutist” is one of Donald Trump’s chief acolytes, campaigning for the erstwhile president across the nation this autumn. The two are perhaps an unlikely couple, united by their wealth and business prowess. Yet, Musk has become part of the president-elect’s inner circle, even posing for photos with Trump’s family on election night.

In the afterglow of Trump’s victory, Musk has been tapped to lead the newly created Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), along with fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. 

 

Vivek RamaswamyVivek Ramaswamy Vivek Ramaswamy has become a key player on X, regularly tweeting his political thoughts to an audience of three million followers. The 39 year old Republican launched a failed bid for the presidency earlier this year before dropping out and endorsing Trump.

In a recent interview with Ezra Klein of the New York Times, Ramaswamy suggested 75% of government employees should be fired, citing cuts made by Musk when he took over Twitter.

Posting to X last Sunday, the former pharma executive said significant changes to the civil service were in the works. 

He said: “We won and have a once-in-a-century opportunity to radically downsize the size, scope, and mission of the federal government.”

Now, the pair will have the ear of the most powerful man in the world. 

A perusal of the comments under The Guardian’s final post helps to illustrate X’s descent into far-right populism.

 “Good riddance, commie s--- bags,’ tweeted Larry Corriea, a science fiction writer with 40,000 followers.

“Bahaha don't like it when you can't lie to us, do you,” added Graham Linehan, the Father Ted screenwriter and prominent ‘gender critical’ activist. 

“We’re all better off without you,” replied “Harris”, a 23 year old self-proclaimed “ethno-nationalist.”

Donald Trump says his new appointments will dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.Donald Trump says his new appointments will dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies. (Image: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

An anonymous “white well-being activist” added: 

“Antiwhite rag leaves X because the platform allows information that contradicts the antiwhite narrative they push.”

It’s not difficult to see where things have gone wrong. Musk has allowed far-right content to flourish, and in many cases, shared it himself. 

Back in August, he reposted a fake image suggesting those involved in the Southport riots would be sent to “detainment” camps in the Falkland Islands.

And last November, he responded with approval to a tweet suggesting Jews were responsible for stoking "hatred against whites.”

Musk has also hosted a ‘X Spaces’ event with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and self-proclaimed “misogynist” Andrew Tate.

So what comes next? 

Data shows that those who have abandoned X are resettling in more peaceful environs; such as Mark Zukerberg’s Threads app or Bluesky, a Twitter spinoff set up by ex-employees. 

Bluesky has seen a particular rise in new users, with more than one million people joining the site in the wake of the American presidential election.

For those opposed to Musk’s brand of right-wing populism, these alternatives are alluring.

X user Ross said: “I'm moving away because it's just become insufferable. I'm mainly on Threads and IG now although I've just downloaded Bluesky. I'll still keep my account as it's handy for following my football team as Twitter still has good coverage of that amidst all the garbage.”

Bobby added: “It has become toxic. A great app has hit bottom. The blatant racism, xenophobia, and bigotry which was an oddity years ago is commonplace now.”

However, some users say they are going to remain on the site, despite the rise in far-right commentary.

Neil said: “I’m staying for the moment because I have a lot of valued connections on Twitter and I'm not walking out in a strop. But I have created Bluesky and Mastodon accounts and, given the exodus which I've witnessed, I'm not sure I'll be on Twitter after 2024.”

Kirsten noted: “The only reason I'm still here is that none of the alternatives have managed to fill the gap. Twitter (will never call it X) has become a right wing cesspit, but it's still the best place to network and find information.”

Of course, there are legitimate reasons why people have deleted the app over the last two years, whether unchecked anti-semitism or abuse directed at trans men and women. The rise of online bigotry is a real concern. 

However, the question remains — is abandoning X exactly what the baying mob of racists and xenophobes want? 

It’s a difficult reality to consider. The rise of echo chambers has plagued our society over the last decade, and a further sifting of the chaff will only lead to more confirmation bias. 

Read more from Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco:

People are pivoting to media which reinforce their prior opinions and beliefs with increasing regularity. That is a problem. Podcasts, TV stations, newspapers —  all promising ‘the truth’.

For example, last week, disgruntled Democrats spread election falsehoods about Musk using his Starlink technology to steal votes from Kamala Harris; four years after Republicans blamed ‘the deep state’ for Donald Trump’s defeat. 

Much has been written about the rightward swing of the pendulum in recent years. Nowhere is that more evident than on X. 

Indeed, Trump’s triumphant return to the White House will shape the world for decades to come. Climate change, the Israel-Gaza conflict, reproductive rights — all of these things will be impacted.

So will our interactions with one another, online and in person. 

There’s a question at stake —  who are we? Will we stand up for the marginalised, or will we retreat as the forces of zealotry march over the digital horizon?

Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other sky.