Moral 'cleanliness' exits from toxic platforms misapply consumer boycott logic to network goods. Because Twitter still concentrates officials, media, and experts, leaving reduces moderates’ share of voice and hands agenda‑setting to adversaries. The right lever is targeted deplatforming of bad actors, not mass elite withdrawal.
— This reframes platform strategy: engagement versus exit on networked public squares has systemic consequences for who sets norms and policy.
Noah Smith
2025.09.13
85% relevant
Noah Smith claims the left’s shift from Twitter/X to Bluesky blunted their ability to summon mass pile‑ons, mirroring the 'don’t use the platform' logic that hands agenda‑setting power to those who stay. The Bari Weiss dogpile (2018) versus today’s diminished mob leverage illustrates the cost of exit.
Nate Silver
2025.09.05
86% relevant
Silver shows Bluesky’s daily posters fell from ~1.5M (Nov 18, 2024) to ~660k and daily followers from ~3.1M to <400k, while X remains sticky; he argues a 'cleaner' refuge becomes insular and impotent for persuasion, reinforcing the warning that abandoning a dominant network hands agenda-setting to opponents.
Jerusalem Demsas
2025.08.22
100% relevant
Jerusalem Demsas rejects the 'Nazi bar' analogy, cites Pew’s 21% user base, and points to the posting‑to‑policy pipeline (e.g., Stephen Smith’s single‑stair campaign) as reasons to remain.