After the US presidential election, Swifties, which is the name of Taylor Swift’s fans, ran away from X in search of Bluesky. X’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, was one of Donald Trump’s biggest donors, contributing more than $100 million to the pro-Trump American PAC; insulting a candidate on the campaign trail; and promoting Trump’s message on X. Musk also helped Trump gain a right-leaning male audience. Swifties, who have built a strong community on what used to be Twitter, have taken notice. On Thursday, less than 48 hours after Trump won the presidency, they began flocking to the podium for good.
“I like the idea of ​​building a new community here and I’d rather not support Elon in any way,” said Justin, who goes by @justin-the-baron.swifties.social on Bluesky and asked to use only his first name for fear of harassment. “Elon is a big fan of Trump, who doesn’t fit Taylor’s standards or the Swifties’ standards.”
Although there are Swifties on all sides of the political spectrum, the community prides itself on being a positive and welcoming place. After Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic presidential nominee, Swifties began rallying to support her. In September, Swift herself endorsed Harris. In an Instagram post announcing her support, Swift cited AI-generated images of herself and her followers that Trump had used to express her support.
After the approval, Musk wrote, “Fine Taylor … you win … I’ll give you a baby and watch over your cats with my life.” Musk, who has repeatedly shared concerns about declining birth rates, has at least 11 children with at least three women. According to the New York Times, he also donated his sperm to Nicole Shanahan, who ran for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (He refused.)
Irene Kim, who is the organizer of the Harris Swifties, says that the scandal that followed the election forced her and many other Swift fans to abandon X and take refuge in Bluesky. Although research has found that hate speech and misogyny have increased after Musk took office, Trump’s election appears to have cost them dearly. A report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that in the 24 hours after Trump’s election victory, phrases like “Your body, my choice,” referring to Nick Fuentes’s election night speech, a white premacist, rose 4,600 percent in -X.
“I think that’s the kind of talk we want to get away from,” said Kim. He also notes that X’s recent update to the “block” feature, which allows people to see the profile and posts of users they’ve blocked, has contributed to a more negative feeling on the platform. “Twitter has become a hellscape,” Kim said.
