Recently, over 20 million users have joined a new social media platform named Bluesky, and have created a toxic community of harassment, blocking, and child grooming.
(PLGNN) - After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter (Now X), leftists have been looking for a platform to switch to. Mark Zuckerberg's Threads seemed promising, however Meta modified the algorithm to reduce political content. So when the former co-founder and CEO of Twitter founded Bluesky, it was naturally pegged as an option to rival X.
Before we get into the dark side of the platform, it's important to understand how it works. The former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, founded Bluesky to be a decentralized and open source version of Twitter. Bluesky launched as an invite only service in 2023, and in 2024, it went public.
Now, following Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential election, 20 million users have flocked to the app.
Bluesky's algorithm is pretty simple. Your account will get seen by replying to others' content, posting original content, and liking posts. The entire point of the platform is to get users to be social. So, Bluesky had the idea to add something called Lists/Starter packs. In short, people can add a list of users to the list, and you can either follow all the users, or block them.
Unfortunately, I was also added to many block lists.
Despite my (mostly) unbiased political comments on Bluesky, I was added to the block list "trump/bots", and a list titled "My blocks".
Sadly, those were the tame ones.
One list I got added to was called "Fash Containment Unit", with the fash being short for fascist (I think).
The description was "Gross Bigots you can block!".
The next list was "MAGA, Trolls, Crypto Scammers, and A-holes", and I'm curious as to which part of that list the person who added me believed I fit into.
The final list I was added to was "CHUD Corral", which I have absolutely no idea what it means. The description for this list is "Assorted bigotry, fashiness and nuclear-grade assholery", so I'm guessing it isn't a positive thing.
That isn't all the data I got on my account.
I also found out who blocked me. Truthfully, it feels like everyone blocked me, considering I was blocked by 96 different accounts, which made my 50 followers look like a meager sum. Notably, many of those accounts had pronouns and a pride flag in the description.
In an effort to disguise my research on the platform, I deleted the majority of my posts and replies. However, I was left with one final question: If they knew that I was 16 years old, would I still have encountered hate on the platform?
The answer to this is simple: No, they would have tried to groom me.
Just kidding, that's a bit of an exaggeration. However, Bluesky has given a home to a group called MAPs (Minor attracted person), basically a fancy way of saying pedophile. In recent years, MAPs have made an attempt to be added to the LGBTQ+ groups, with the excuse that their sexuality is just a natural as anyone else's (It's not). Just to be clear, the majority of the LGBTQ+ have rejected this, particularly gay individuals.
Bluesky moderation has publicly said that the majority of their reports and the majority of content taken down is CSAM, which stands for Child Sexual Abuse Material. Again, this is unsurprisingly considering the audience of the platform.
Bluesky is an echo chamber. On the social media platform, users will only encounter opinions of the left, as any conservative accounts will be banned, or mass blocked. Freedom of speech is almost entirely removed, and debate and discourse is non-existent.
Liberals should have never left X, because at the end of the day, X has real, genuine discourse. X has full freedom of speech, and will push out users equally, not adhering to whether they identify as liberal or conservative. Yes, Elon Musk is going to be in the Trump Administration. However, at the end of the day, he is going to stick to the ideals that he's always held: People should have the right to express themselves, no matter their beliefs.
X is a representation of America, and the American people. It defends the freedom of speech that the US holds dear. Bluesky, on the other hand, is similar to that of Russia, or North Korea, with only one side of the political spectrum being pushed, and the other side persecuted.
Bluesky is a platform of hate and censorship, and until it welcomes the right with open arms, it will remain as the toxic echo chamber of the left.
(PLGNN) - After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter (Now X), leftists have been looking for a platform to switch to. Mark Zuckerberg's Threads seemed promising, however Meta modified the algorithm to reduce political content. So when the former co-founder and CEO of Twitter founded Bluesky, it was naturally pegged as an option to rival X.
Before we get into the dark side of the platform, it's important to understand how it works. The former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, founded Bluesky to be a decentralized and open source version of Twitter. Bluesky launched as an invite only service in 2023, and in 2024, it went public.
Now, following Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential election, 20 million users have flocked to the app.
Bluesky's algorithm is pretty simple. Your account will get seen by replying to others' content, posting original content, and liking posts. The entire point of the platform is to get users to be social. So, Bluesky had the idea to add something called Lists/Starter packs. In short, people can add a list of users to the list, and you can either follow all the users, or block them.
I decided that I needed to test out this social media site for myself. After spending an unhealthy amount of time on X, mostly researching for PLGNN articles, I was ready to finally start posting on social media. Besides the occasional post rooting for the Miami Hurricanes, I had never really posted to X, and truthfully, I don't have much interest in doing so. So when Bluesky came out, I figured that I could join in with the influx of new users, and maybe even start an influential account on the site.
I made the decision to have my account commentating on politics, however, true to PLGNN standards, unbiased. My bio on the site was "Professionally playing both sides", which is a statement I found fitting considering my work in news and media.
I had high hopes when joining Bluesky, however I probably shouldn't have, considering I knew that it banning conservative accounts. The right-wing X account, EndWokeness, had joined Bluesky, and got banned after tweeting "There are two genders", which not only is a scientific fact, however it's well within their first amendment rights to state that, as it's not causing harm to anyone.
Once I made my account, @phineasglover, I added a profile picture of myself at Disneyland (which I later changed to my dog), and started looking at posts.
What I found was possibly the most disturbing and hateful rhetoric the left has to offer.
Hundreds of posts, advocating for the removal of white and Christian people, calling for the President-elect to be assassinated, and praying for the destruction of Israel and its people.
I had high hopes when joining Bluesky, however I probably shouldn't have, considering I knew that it banning conservative accounts. The right-wing X account, EndWokeness, had joined Bluesky, and got banned after tweeting "There are two genders", which not only is a scientific fact, however it's well within their first amendment rights to state that, as it's not causing harm to anyone.
Once I made my account, @phineasglover, I added a profile picture of myself at Disneyland (which I later changed to my dog), and started looking at posts.
What I found was possibly the most disturbing and hateful rhetoric the left has to offer.
Hundreds of posts, advocating for the removal of white and Christian people, calling for the President-elect to be assassinated, and praying for the destruction of Israel and its people.
One thing that was important to me was that I didn't want to post any of my own political opinions- in fact, the only time I posted my own opinion was when I said "Free my boy Tory Lanez, he ain't do nothing", which got me added to the list "Tory Lanez Fans", despite having only listened to two Tory Lanez songs in my life.
So, I made it my goal to only reply to fact check, add context, or ask for context on posts.
My first argument on the site is when somebody posted, calling President-elect Trump a rapist, and I responded saying that he isn't a rapist. Another user on the site responded, saying "You mean apart from the rape conviction?" to which I said that none of the 34 felonies he was convicted on were for rape, and instead were hush money payments over consensual intercourse with adult film star Stormy Daniels. The user I was arguing with then brought up E. Jean Carroll, and I explained to them that Trump was convicted for sexual abuse, which isn't a rape charge and doesn't make an individual a convicted rapist.
The farther I scrolled, the worst the posts became. The posts started to advocate for the destruction of the Christian religion, and even asked for the killing of white people. I couldn't help but wonder if the posts had been about killing any other race, would the comments have been allowed on the platform? It was shocking to me, how posts stating scientific facts were taken down, but posts calling for violence and hate towards certain races and religions weren't.
Occasionally, there was a relatively tame post (at least for the left), such as one saying men who don't like abortions should get vasectomies. While I do believe women should have the right to get an abortion, I must admit that the logic in this post is faulty. The entire point of it is that these individuals believe the main purpose of a man and a woman is to procreate, and they would be anti anything that hinders it, which includes both vasectomies and abortions.
One individual posted, asking why a convicted felon was president. I responded, saying that it was because the majority of Americans voted for him, which is why we have a representative democracy. Instead of a response, I was met with a block.
The most controversial thing I posted/disagreement I was involved was where somebody said that saying young children shouldn't get transgender treatments is transphobic. I responded, saying that the children shouldn't get treatments until 18, which is one of the few opinions I offered throughout my time on Bluesky.
I was met with replies, calling me a "Transphobic piece of sh*t", and claiming that puberty is the same thing as a child transitioning to be another gender (It's not).
After posting 50 times, and looking at thousands of these unintelligent posts, I decided that I needed to save my brain cells and stop conversing with these mentally challenged individuals.
Right before I logged off the app, I discovered that there was a way to see the lists you've been added to, and the people who have blocked you.
I saw some fun lists I've been added to, such as the news accounts list I created, the Tory Lanez fan list, and an American users list.
So, I made it my goal to only reply to fact check, add context, or ask for context on posts.
My first argument on the site is when somebody posted, calling President-elect Trump a rapist, and I responded saying that he isn't a rapist. Another user on the site responded, saying "You mean apart from the rape conviction?" to which I said that none of the 34 felonies he was convicted on were for rape, and instead were hush money payments over consensual intercourse with adult film star Stormy Daniels. The user I was arguing with then brought up E. Jean Carroll, and I explained to them that Trump was convicted for sexual abuse, which isn't a rape charge and doesn't make an individual a convicted rapist.
The farther I scrolled, the worst the posts became. The posts started to advocate for the destruction of the Christian religion, and even asked for the killing of white people. I couldn't help but wonder if the posts had been about killing any other race, would the comments have been allowed on the platform? It was shocking to me, how posts stating scientific facts were taken down, but posts calling for violence and hate towards certain races and religions weren't.
Occasionally, there was a relatively tame post (at least for the left), such as one saying men who don't like abortions should get vasectomies. While I do believe women should have the right to get an abortion, I must admit that the logic in this post is faulty. The entire point of it is that these individuals believe the main purpose of a man and a woman is to procreate, and they would be anti anything that hinders it, which includes both vasectomies and abortions.
One individual posted, asking why a convicted felon was president. I responded, saying that it was because the majority of Americans voted for him, which is why we have a representative democracy. Instead of a response, I was met with a block.
The most controversial thing I posted/disagreement I was involved was where somebody said that saying young children shouldn't get transgender treatments is transphobic. I responded, saying that the children shouldn't get treatments until 18, which is one of the few opinions I offered throughout my time on Bluesky.
I was met with replies, calling me a "Transphobic piece of sh*t", and claiming that puberty is the same thing as a child transitioning to be another gender (It's not).
After posting 50 times, and looking at thousands of these unintelligent posts, I decided that I needed to save my brain cells and stop conversing with these mentally challenged individuals.
Right before I logged off the app, I discovered that there was a way to see the lists you've been added to, and the people who have blocked you.
I saw some fun lists I've been added to, such as the news accounts list I created, the Tory Lanez fan list, and an American users list.
Unfortunately, I was also added to many block lists.
Despite my (mostly) unbiased political comments on Bluesky, I was added to the block list "trump/bots", and a list titled "My blocks".
Sadly, those were the tame ones.
One list I got added to was called "Fash Containment Unit", with the fash being short for fascist (I think).
The description was "Gross Bigots you can block!".
The next list was "MAGA, Trolls, Crypto Scammers, and A-holes", and I'm curious as to which part of that list the person who added me believed I fit into.
The final list I was added to was "CHUD Corral", which I have absolutely no idea what it means. The description for this list is "Assorted bigotry, fashiness and nuclear-grade assholery", so I'm guessing it isn't a positive thing.
That isn't all the data I got on my account.
I also found out who blocked me. Truthfully, it feels like everyone blocked me, considering I was blocked by 96 different accounts, which made my 50 followers look like a meager sum. Notably, many of those accounts had pronouns and a pride flag in the description.
In an effort to disguise my research on the platform, I deleted the majority of my posts and replies. However, I was left with one final question: If they knew that I was 16 years old, would I still have encountered hate on the platform?
The answer to this is simple: No, they would have tried to groom me.
Just kidding, that's a bit of an exaggeration. However, Bluesky has given a home to a group called MAPs (Minor attracted person), basically a fancy way of saying pedophile. In recent years, MAPs have made an attempt to be added to the LGBTQ+ groups, with the excuse that their sexuality is just a natural as anyone else's (It's not). Just to be clear, the majority of the LGBTQ+ have rejected this, particularly gay individuals.
Bluesky moderation has publicly said that the majority of their reports and the majority of content taken down is CSAM, which stands for Child Sexual Abuse Material. Again, this is unsurprisingly considering the audience of the platform.
Bluesky is an echo chamber. On the social media platform, users will only encounter opinions of the left, as any conservative accounts will be banned, or mass blocked. Freedom of speech is almost entirely removed, and debate and discourse is non-existent.
Liberals should have never left X, because at the end of the day, X has real, genuine discourse. X has full freedom of speech, and will push out users equally, not adhering to whether they identify as liberal or conservative. Yes, Elon Musk is going to be in the Trump Administration. However, at the end of the day, he is going to stick to the ideals that he's always held: People should have the right to express themselves, no matter their beliefs.
X is a representation of America, and the American people. It defends the freedom of speech that the US holds dear. Bluesky, on the other hand, is similar to that of Russia, or North Korea, with only one side of the political spectrum being pushed, and the other side persecuted.
Bluesky is a platform of hate and censorship, and until it welcomes the right with open arms, it will remain as the toxic echo chamber of the left.
Tags:
Opinion