Black Exodus: Why X Users Are Deactivating And Building New Digital Communities

Black Twitter, according to Meredith Clark, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, can be thought of as “a network of culturally connected communicators using the platform to draw attention to issues of concern to the black communities.” 2012 research from the Pew Research Center indicates that Black internet users were on Twitter at higher rates than their counterparts with these same findings echoed in their 2021 research. Many of this generation’s most important social movements were birthed on Black Twitter, including #BlackLivesMatter, #OscarsSoWhite, #SayHerName and the #MeToo movement. The platform, which has been around for nearly two decades, has been instrumental in the spreading of news and information, and has played a vital role in activism and advocacy within society.

In the fall of 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion. The New York Times reported in 2023 that since Musk’s acquisition, the platform has seen a rise in hate speech and other harmful content, with anti-Semitic tweets more than doubling since Musk’s takeover. In addition, Musk laid off 80% of the platform’s engineers that focused on trust and safety issues. Under Musk’s leadership, the platform welcomed back many banned accounts that had previously been removed for promoting Covid-19 misinformation, election denialism and QAnon conspiracies.

Best-selling author and speaker Minda Harts recently left X after amassing a large following and a wealth of opportunities on the platform. Harts wrote in Threads post that the feeling of leaving was bittersweet because of the community she had built and she credits the platform for being the catalyst to her writing three successful books. In a text message Harts explained “I believe in creating and engaging in spaces that reflect the values of respect, growth, and community. When a platform no longer aligns with those values, it’s okay to seek environments that inspire connection and positivity. For me, Threads and Bluesky offer that renewed sense of purpose and engagement.”

“I’ve only been on Twitter for a few years but grew a large following,” shared Leah Goodridge. Goodridge, who joined the platform in March of 2021, is a Brooklyn-based tenants’ rights attorney. “You get to share important insights and information, but [X] is also toxic, and I’ve experienced that in the few years I’ve been on it. I’m scaling back and will be on other platforms like Bluesky and [Instagram].” Goodridge and Harts are some of the many within the Black community who have either deactivated their X accounts or are spending less time on the platform since Musk’s acquisition. Several competitors have emerged to fill the void amid the public’s increasing dissatisfaction with X.

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Many have turned to Bluesky as an alternative to escape the right-wing echo chamber that X has devolved into. Bluesky, started in 2019 by Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey, saw a spike in users post-election, amassing over 20 million users to date. Users seem to be drawn to Bluesky’s resemblance to the “old Twitter,” with the similar design to Twitter’s earlier versions bringing many nostalgia. In addition to Bluesky, Threads, Instagram’s text-based app, also saw a rise in users post-election. Spill, an app created by two former Twitter employees, also saw a rise in users post-election, with TechCrunch reporting that the platform gained more than 2 million users post-election. Many users are particularly drawn to the Spill app because it’s Black-owned.

Earlier this year, Hulu released a three-part docuseries titled “Black Twitter: A People’s History,” exploring how Black Twitter became such an “influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.” The loss of X users is not only being felt monetarily, but there are many wider implications to the mass migration of Black users off the app. Black Twitter has been instrumental in not only sparking important social movements but has also played a vital role in the cultivation of new trends and cultural moments. Black users leaving X en masse means a loss of the cultural innovations that the community brings to the app, as well as a lack of representation when it comes to important conversations about politics, entertainment and social issues. Black creators have always been at the helm of the most important cultural moments. It’s hard to say for certain what the future of X will be, but without the Black creators who have made the platform what it is today, the future of X doesn’t look so bright.