In a surprising turn of events, the user base of Bluesky, the social media platform that was once touted as the successor to Twitter, has seen a dramatic decline.
The latest high-profile user to join the platform, Vice President J.D. Vance, was banned within 20 minutes of his first post.
Vance, who joined the platform on Wednesday, chose to discuss the day's most significant news: the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in favor of states that have outlawed transgender procedures for minors. The court's decision affirmed that Tennessee was not violating the Fourteenth Amendments Equal Protection Clause by banning hormones, puberty blockers, and similar treatments for individuals under 18.
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts stated, This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. He added, The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound. The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements. Roberts was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas.
According to Western Journal, the court's three liberal justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor, predictably dissented. Sotomayor argued in her dissent that the courts ruling does irrevocable damage to the Equal Protection Clause and invites legislatures to engage in discrimination by hiding blatant sex classifications in plain sight.
In his first post on Bluesky, Vance expressed his excitement about joining the platform, which he believed was a hub for common sense political discussion and analysis. He shared Justice Thomas concurrence, which questioned the wisdom of deferring to the authority of the expert class.
Thomas argued that the issue of whether young children can provide informed consent to irreversible sex-transition treatments is a question of medical ethics that states must decide for themselves. He also expressed skepticism about the reliability of the expert class, citing recent revelations of questionable evidence and ideological influence on medical guidance.
Despite Bluesky's reputation as a Twitter alternative for the chattering class, Vice President Vance, a prominent figure in the right-wing political sphere, was banned from the platform in less than half an hour. The New York Post reported that Vances ban was brief, as his account was reinstated just minutes later.
However, the fact that the sitting vice president of the United States was banned from the platform for simply stating the law of the land, without violating any of the platforms guidelines, raises questions about the platform's commitment to open discussion.
The reasons behind Vance's ban remain unclear. It may have been triggered by complaints from progressive users on Bluesky, some of whom reported Vance for spreading "misinformation." This could have activated an algorithmic response from Bluesky, which would suggest that the platform is not suitable for serious discussion.
Bluesky's user engagement has been in a steady decline, with a 50 percent drop in engagement and a dwindling user base. Most of the media personalities who loudly announced their departure from Twitter during 2024 post irregularly, if at all, on Bluesky. The platform seems to appeal mostly to individuals with a keen interest in progressive politics.
The ban of Vice President Vance, a conservative figure, for sharing reality with the dwindling liberal user base on Bluesky, highlights the platform's bias. It also underscores the challenges conservatives face in finding a platform for open and balanced political discussion.
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