Author denies Elon Musk kicked him off platform and says he is joining rival Threads

Summary

Stephen King announced his departure from X (formerly Twitter), calling the platform “too toxic” and urging followers to join him on Threads.

King has frequently clashed with X owner Elon Musk over verification charges and political disputes, including Musk’s support for Donald Trump.

Other entities, including The Guardian, German football club St Pauli, and actor Jamie Lee Curtis, have also left the platform, citing concerns over toxic content, misinformation, and hate speech.

Rival platforms like Threads and Bluesky are gaining traction, with Bluesky reporting nearly 15 million users globally.

  • @[email protected]English
    27•1 month ago

    I wish people would have left earlier as well, but it’s not just sunk cost fallacy. Network effects are a rational reason to stay, and that’s the issue. If he has a community, he loses the community. I get it.

    That’s why I wish celebrities would coordinate and all leave at once - it’s far more likely their network will follow them in that case, both hurting X more and helping themselves more, and accelerating people leaving as the network effects disappear on X.

    The physics metaphor applies pretty directly here: They need to create momentum to counteract inertia.

    • Flying Squid
      15•1 month ago

      That’s why I wish celebrities would coordinate and all leave at once

      I think that’s a herding cats issue. Especially when you’re dealing with a bunch of people with big egos. But it would be nice.

      • SeaJ
        17•1 month ago

        SAG making a push for union members to leave it would definitely help.

        • Flying Squid
          7•1 month ago

          Not a terrible idea. I wonder what Fran Drescher’s position on the election is? I’m betting she’s not a big Elon fan as a union president.

          • SeaJ
            4•1 month ago

            You hear that, @frandrescher? Head over to Bluesky and/or Mastodon and take your minions with you!

            Note: I have no idea how to Twitter.

      • @[email protected]English
        6•1 month ago

        Yeah, for sure. But there’s been trends set off without explicit coordination in the past, especially where there’s an unspoken, unacknowledged pressure built up over time.

        I suspect many both celebs and normies are ready to leave, and they’re waiting for an excuse, a signal that they won’t be leaving alone and losing those networks. If Taylor Swift does it, and then some movie star follows, and so on, it can organically cascade.