The influential online community that birthed movements like #BlackLivesMatter is now a “digital diaspora” in search of a new platform to call home. Prior to Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, April Reign believed the platform was indispensable. With over 13 years and 641,000 tweets, she was part of a community of highly engaged Black users who shared everything from jokes to job opportunities.
In 2015, this community transformed Reign’s spontaneous hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite, into a viral campaign that prompted real-world change by pressuring the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to increase the number of Oscar-voting members of color. Other hashtags, including #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and #HandsUpDontShoot, became rallying cries for racial justice.
However, when Musk reinstated thousands of banned accounts, the use of racial slurs surged and many within Reign’s network, collectively known as Black Twitter, began to sign off. High-profile Black users are now transitioning to other platforms in an attempt to recreate the spirit of Black Twitter. From emerging services like Mastodon and Meta’s Threads to smaller apps like Spoutible, Fanbase, and Somewhere Good, a range of alternatives have gained traction. Recently introduced is Spill, a Twitter alternative launched by a former Black Twitter executive who had been fired by Musk.
Although none of these services have yet matched Twitter’s influence, the site, rebranded as X, still retains significant clout, despite its decline under Musk’s leadership. For instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently launched his presidential campaign on the platform, while Black networks have used it to rally support for Black basketball star Brittney Griner and promote films with Black stars like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” remake.
Several competing platforms, such as Bluesky, created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, have strained relationships with Black users by failing to address racist attacks. Consequently, Black Twitter has become a “digital diaspora” seeking a new online community, according to André Brock, a media studies professor at Georgia Tech University who has extensively researched Black Twitter.
While some fear that replicating the unique circumstances that gave rise to Black Twitter’s cultural influence may prove difficult, many users are unwilling to turn back. Touré, a host at TheGrio, has a substantial Twitter following but now posts infrequently as the platform leaves him feeling “triggered and tired.” He believes Musk’s deliberate and unwelcome changes are driving him away.
Twitter initially attracted attention due to its significant number of Black users, who were overrepresented on the site. A study by Edison Research in 2010 estimated that Black people constituted one-quarter of Twitter users, despite making up only a fraction of the general population. Moreover, Black Twitter distinguished itself by fostering a sense of community, with users following one another and facilitating dialogue that propelled memes, comebacks, hashtags, and witticisms onto Twitter’s Trending Topics list, exposing them to a wider audience.
This elevated the voices of Black users, introducing a new dynamic where individuals with considerable influence suddenly had connections to Black friends they previously lacked. This had a profound impact on society. Wesley Lowery, an American University journalism professor and prolific Twitter user, explains, “People who pulled the levers of the most powerful institutions in society suddenly had a bunch of Black friends that they wouldn’t have had before. And that had a tremendous impact.”
Black Twitter popularized numerous cultural memes and introduced slang phrases like “on fleek” and “Bye, Felicia.” However, it was the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown in 2012 and 2014, respectively, that ignited the network’s political power. Hashtags such as #HandsUpDontShoot, #SayHerName, and #BlackLivesMatter became rallying cries for racial justice activists across the nation. More recently, the murder of George Floyd in 2020 led to the adoption of the hashtag #ICantBreathe, further fueling a racial reckoning.
Twitter played a pivotal role in drawing media attention to these incidents, according to Lowery, who covered Brown’s death and other police shootings for The Washington Post. Twitter offered Black people a platform to bring issues important to them to the forefront and engage with individuals who shape society’s decisions. It became a printing press for Black perspectives, challenging the traditional gatekeeping of mainstream media.
Twitter also fostered an inclusive environment for Black employees, and the company actively supported Black voices. It had an employee group called the Blackbirds and hired God-is Rivera, a Black Twitter influencer, as the liaison with creators. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey even appeared alongside Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson, sporting a T-shirt bearing the slogan #StayWoke.
The platform also took steps to combat online trolling and harassment targeting women and marginalized groups. It focused on content moderation and implemented rules against misinformation and hate speech between 2018 and Musk’s acquisition. However, much of this progress disappeared under Musk, who identifies as a “free-speech absolutist.” He has lifted bans on right-wing and extremist accounts, leading to an increase in hate speech on the platform. Consequently, many Black users left Twitter.
Over the past year, a significant majority of Americans have taken breaks from using Twitter, including 67% of Black Americans and 69% of women, according to the Pew Research Center. Today, it is unlikely that a movement for racial justice similar to the one seen in 2020 could emerge from Twitter. Meredith Clark, an associate journalism professor at Northeastern University, believes Musk’s purchase of Twitter has created a hostile environment for Black users seeking genuine connections and community.
Subsequently, other social platforms have seen an opportunity to attract disenchanted Twitter users. Meta hastened the launch of its Twitter alternative, Threads, in response to Musk’s decisions. Bluesky experienced an influx of new users, while Spill, a Twitter alternative launched by a former Black Twitter executive, rose to the top spot on Apple’s app store, gaining over 100,000 new members and dominating Twitter’s trending topics.
These alternatives aim to provide safe spaces for diverse communities that have fueled cultural and political movements. While the future of Black Twitter remains uncertain, these emerging platforms offer an opportunity for Black users to rebuild and redefine their digital diaspora.
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