Two-Thirds of Left-Wing News Influencers Are Now Using Bluesky

Fast-growing X alternative Bluesky may be having issues generating revenue, but it’s becoming an increasingly important part of the news landscape—well, at least in some quarters.

The percentage of “news influencers” with a Bluesky account almost doubled in the four months after Election Day in November 2024, up from 21% before the election to 43% by March 2025, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center.

However, Bluesky’s adoption was far higher on the left than on the political right. While 75% of influencers identified as left-wing had a Bluesky account, this number fell to just 15% on the right.

These news influencers are people with over 100,000 followers who post regularly about current events. To be clear, these are private individuals who post about news, not media outlets like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal.

But even in the face of immense backlash against X, amid the numerous political controversies embroiling owner Elon Musk, X remains a strong force in the world of news commentary. Three-quarters of left-leaning news influencers still have an X account, as per the research, while 87% of right-leaning news influencers and 83% of those without a clear political orientation have one.

Still, X is showing some small signs of decline among these news influencers. Between the start of 2025 and the end of March, the number of influencers posting on X weekly fell from 92% to 87%. Meanwhile, Bluesky is showing the opposite trajectory. Roughly half (54%) of news influencers on Bluesky posted in the first full week of January, which grew to 66% by the end of March.

But it’s still more common for news influencers to be highly active on X than on Bluesky. In the first three months of 2025, 83% of news influencers on X posted over four days a week on average. However, only 31% of Bluesky users did so.

But it’s not just politics that could be driving Bluesky’s burgeoning popularity. The platform has been consistently rolling out features that high-profile figures may find useful. These include tools that can help keep unwanted DMs at bay and new “Blue Checks” for verified users.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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