Should Governments Abandon X Now That Elon Musk Is in Charge? Is Bluesky the New Promised Land? How should we navigate Zuckerberg’s shifting strategies? And what are the geopolitical implications of TikTok and DeepSeek? Plenty to ponder, which is why we put these questions to Rob Heyman (VUB/SMIT). Rob is the coordinator of the Flemish Knowledge Centre for Data & Society, a hub where researchers from VUB, UGent, and KU Leuven translate insights on the ethical, social, and legal aspects of artificial intelligence for businesses and policymakers.

It may not be a full-blown "X-odus", but the trend is clear. Since Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and rebranded it as X, many users have either scaled back their activity or deleted their accounts altogether. Thirty Flemish organisations – ranging from Cavaria to Chiro – chose a symbolic date to leave X collectively: 20 January, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president. A logical move, says Rob Heyman. X is now riddled with hate speech, misinformation, and political manipulation. Personally, I remain on the platform, but only as a passive observer. The Knowledge Centre for Data & Society has also kept its Twitter handle for security reasons – otherwise, anyone could hijack our name and post whatever they like. We no longer publish content there, but we do tell people: if you want updates, find us on Bluesky.

Has X lost its status as the leading platform for public debate?

Rob Heyman: “It still has 300 million users, though it’s unclear how many of those are bots. Bluesky, by contrast, is only at 28 million.”

But is X still a space for balanced debate?

"X, like Elon Musk himself, has aligned with a vision of free speech similar to Donald Trump’s: the idea that everyone should be able to say whatever they like. The problem is, when minorities do so, they face severe backlash. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to remain on such a platform. The moment you post something 'wrong', you’re bombarded with abuse, insults, and threats from right-wing internet trolls."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2022, Elon Musk took over Twitter with great fanfare and swiftly rebranded it as X.
Elon Musk

Is Bluesky Our Light in Dark Times?

"Perhaps, but mainly because the trolls haven’t caught up yet. Once they migrate as well, Bluesky won’t necessarily have an immediate solution to deal with them."

Will Bluesky Have Its Moment Before Fading Away Like Mastodon?

"Bluesky does have an advantage over Mastodon. Both platforms are decentralised in terms of architecture, meaning they don’t rely on a single owner or central server. However, Mastodon is also decentralised financially, whereas Bluesky has centralised funding—it’s a spin-off from Twitter, backed by money from a Twitter co-founder and other investors. That gives it a more stable financial foundation for growth. They’re even considering introducing a paid membership model to cover costs."

Does Bluesky Have a Real Chance of Becoming Big?

"Super dull answer: only time will tell. But it certainly seems less impossible than launching a new Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Telegram. A platform can only succeed if a critical mass of users make the switch. That’s tricky because social networks—friendships, professional contacts—tend to be very static. You simply can’t get everyone to move to a new platform. The last major mass migration was from MySpace and Netlog to Facebook. It’s a bit like a pub: you might have a falling-out with the landlord, but if your friends still meet there, you’re unlikely to switch pubs anytime soon."

Is the Dynamic Different with X and Bluesky?

"Yes. You’re not on these platforms for your friends but to share information. That means you don’t need to bring your whole network with you. You can already do a lot on Bluesky without really missing X."

Will We End Up with Two Separate Platforms—One Left-Wing, One Right-Wing?

"Who knows? For now, Bluesky is definitely a safer and more constructive alternative. But as I said earlier, there’s nothing stopping trolls from flooding Bluesky with abuse and misinformation too. It’s probably just a matter of time."

Jay Graber

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since 2021, Jay Graber has been leading the social network Bluesky, positioning herself as the counterpart to Elon Musk.

Could Threads Become the Third Major Player?

"Mark Zuckerberg is trying to replicate X’s functionality with Threads to lure users into the Meta ecosystem, but it’s not working all that well."

Earlier This Year, Mark Zuckerberg Shifted His Approach to Free Speech. In the US, He Replaced Professional Fact-Checkers with a Moderation System Similar to X’s Community Notes.

"Zuckerberg has always tried hard to avoid being seen as a political actor, but that hasn’t worked out very well either. Facebook has long been accused of lacking neutrality. When Obama was elected, Republicans were furious, claiming the platform didn’t give enough space to conservative voices. Imagine—back then, they were actually pushing for more fact-checking! (laughs) So, you shouldn’t be surprised by Zuckerberg’s change of course—it’s more political opportunism than anything else. He’s never been a big fan of professional fact-checkers, simply because they’re people, and people cost money. If he can automate or solve it with an algorithm, he absolutely will. The fact that scrapping fact-checkers happens to align with the interests of Trump and the MAGA movement is just a convenient bonus for him."

Community Notes Are Created by Volunteer Moderators. How Does That Work?

"These are users who voluntarily add contextual information to posts that might be misleading. For example, if Elon Musk shares a map showing Iran supposedly surrounded by dozens of US military bases, a community note could clarify that the US actually has only two bases in the region, and they’re not near the border. In that particular case, Musk responded by saying it was ‘just a joke’."

"The internet is international and users vote with their feet: they choose the best service, Chinese or not"

Who Creates a Community Note?

"A pre-moderator. They’re not allowed to moderate yet but go through a trial phase to prove they can become a suitable moderator. Pre-moderators apply voluntarily and are selected by an algorithm—though how exactly that works is unclear. It seems that most of them are highly politically engaged, usually at the extremes of the spectrum. People who take a more balanced approach tend not to put themselves forward."

What Happens to a Community Note Afterwards?

"A group of moderators then decides whether it’s a good or bad community note. The aim is to reach unanimity, but in the end, the majority wins."

So If a Pre-Moderator Wants to Become a Full Moderator, They’re Better Off Echoing the Majority?

"That’s right. The algorithm rewards those who align with the majority view. On X, that majority tends to be dominated by people with a MAGA mindset. The losers in this system are people of colour, LGBTQ+ users, and other minorities. Their numbers are too small to push back effectively. Then again, these groups struggle on other social media platforms too. Trolling and gay-bashing are some of the easiest things to do online."

Are We Too Fixated on American Platforms? TikTok Is Outpacing Them All, and DeepSeek Could Soon Do the Same with AI. Will China End Up Dominating the Digital World?

"TikTok and DeepSeek are really part of the same story: America waking up to the fact that its most popular social media platform is already Chinese, and now, with the rise of DeepSeek, American players like OpenAI and Nvidia are also taking a hit."

What Does This Chinese Wave Mean for the US?

"Firstly, a huge chunk of American advertising revenue is now flowing to China. Secondly, the Chinese government has access to data from hundreds of millions of Americans. The NSA already tries to collect data from US platforms, but otherwise, American users were supposedly 'safe'—not anymore."

Is China Giving the US a Taste of Its Own Medicine?

"Pretty much. The Patriot Act allowed US authorities to access the data of European and other foreign users, even when stored outside the US. American national security was considered more important than people’s privacy. Now the roles are reversed."

Can Trump Still Stop TikTok’s Rise?

"You can’t stop the masses. The internet is global, and users vote with their feet—they choose the best service, whether it’s Chinese or not. Geopolitical consequences don’t concern them. When TikTok went offline briefly, many people immediately started migrating to another Chinese platform. Musk and Zuckerberg have aligned themselves with the MAGA movement and moved their businesses to Texas, but if they’re not careful, they’ll soon be yesterday’s news."

Will DeepSeek Follow the Same Path?

"DeepSeek is already the second most downloaded app. That’s yet another blow to the idea that America is the world’s technological leader."

"European fragmentation - with all those borders and languages - continues to trouble us"

What Does This Mean for European Users?

"Hopefully, it serves as a wake-up call, making people realise that, in terms of privacy, we’re not much better off on American platforms than on Chinese ones. This week, someone wrote in De Tijd: ‘Be careful with DeepSeek when it comes to privacy.’ But you should be just as careful with OpenAI! Yes, China violates human rights, and we share a cultural connection with America, but beyond that, what’s the real difference? New bosses, but no new rules."

What Would You Personally Never Do Online?

"I’d never discuss a medical condition or other sensitive personal topics on a forum under my real name. Always use a pseudonym. You never know how that data might be misused in the future."

Do You Still Post Much Yourself?

"I follow and observe, but I don’t post. I’m a classic lurker—just like 90% of social media users, actually. Of the remaining 10%, 9% only share content created by others. Just 1% are actually creating original content. I quit Facebook completely. After writing a PhD on it, I was well and truly done with it." (laughs)

DeepSeek Performs as Well as Other AI Systems but Costs Far Less. Could This Be an Opportunity for Europe, Where AI Research Lacks Billions in Funding?

"Possibly, but the same obstacles remain. Europe’s fragmentation—with all its borders and languages—continues to hold us back. In the Netherlands, they invested €13.5 million in developing a large language model for Dutch, but it’s proving difficult because it’s a small language with limited data. Plus, they’re aiming for the complexity level of GPT-3—a model from two years ago, which is already outdated. China, on the other hand, has large languages and a vast number of users."

They Also Don’t Worry About Privacy.

"Exactly. China can use all that data freely, without any privacy restrictions. We can’t. In a way, we’ve become victims of our own privacy laws. Big companies like Facebook and Google have the money to hire lawyers who find loopholes in GDPR and implement regulations in ways that benefit them. Our companies don’t operate at that scale. Because of a lack of good information, many European businesses have fallen behind. That said, we shouldn’t just use this as an excuse. We need to learn from these mistakes and not repeat them. It’s up to our regulators to take bold steps and consider whether, under certain conditions, a legal grey area might be possible."