News influencers expand to Bluesky but maintain strong presence on X

A growing number of U.S.-based news influencers, particularly those with left-leaning political views, are expanding their social media presence to Bluesky, a decentralized platform launched as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter). However, new data from the Pew Research Center shows that while Bluesky adoption is increasing, most influencers continue to remain active on X, suggesting that Bluesky serves more as a supplement than a replacement.

The Pew study, which revisits a sample of 500 news influencers—defined as individuals with at least 100,000 followers who regularly post about civic and current events—finds that 43% now have a Bluesky account, nearly double the share before the 2024 U.S. election. Yet 82% of the same sample still maintain accounts on X, indicating that Bluesky has not prompted a mass migration away from Elon Musk’s platform.

Among influencers who identify as liberal or Democratic, Bluesky adoption is more pronounced: nearly 70% have joined the platform, compared to just 15% of conservative influencers. Despite these numbers, most of those same left-leaning users continue to post on X. In fact, only 6% of influencers in the sample had a Bluesky account without also having an account on X.

Posting activity supports this dual-platform approach. Bluesky saw a modest increase in posting frequency early in 2025, growing from 54% of influencers posting in early January to 66% by late March. X, by contrast, experienced a small decline over the same period, from 92% to 87% of influencers posting weekly—but remains the more active platform overall.

Activity levels further highlight the divide. On X, 83% of influencers posted at least four times per week during the first quarter of 2025. On Bluesky, only 31% reached that level of engagement, and nearly half posted infrequently or not at all.

Bluesky’s public launch in February 2024 and the post-election period fueled a wave of new account creation. Over half of the news influencers now on Bluesky joined after the election, with 42% signing up in just the final three weeks of November. This suggests political developments, including concerns over Musk’s influence and alignment with the second Trump administration, played a role in user migration.

Still, Bluesky remains a distant third in the social media race. With an estimated 36 million users, it trails Meta’s Threads at 350 million and X, which claims 600 million monthly users. Threads, despite being backed by another tech giant, has outpaced Bluesky in user growth, signaling that decentralized architecture alone may not be enough to attract mass adoption.

While Bluesky promotes a model built around open protocols and user control, most users prioritize content availability and ease of use—areas where platforms like X and Threads continue to dominate. The technical nature of decentralized networks, similar to what hampered Mastodon’s growth, may limit broader uptake beyond niche communities and media-savvy users.

The Pew findings suggest that many influencers are hedging their bets: maintaining established audiences on X while experimenting with newer platforms like Bluesky. Unless Bluesky can attract a critical mass of creators and everyday users, it may struggle to evolve beyond a secondary platform for those dissatisfied with the current social media landscape.