As Bluesky surpasses 20 million users, beware the fake accounts

Bluesky has been experiencing nonstop growth ever since election day. The alternative social media platform is starting to stand out above all of the others as users flee Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, due to changes at X as well as Musk’s role in the incoming Trump administration. On Tuesday, Bluesky announced that it had hit 20 million users. It has also begun surpassing another big X competitor, Meta’s Threads, in some key statistics as well. SEE ALSO: I’ve barely used Bluesky, and the engagement already feels more real As Bluesky continues to grow, scammers and other bad actors are going to take notice. In fact, some have already. Fake accounts on BlueskyOn Wednesday, for example, an account claiming to be billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman went viral on Bluesky after it published a post suggesting that Bluesky should be acquired in order to stop the user exodus from Musk’s X. It was a fake. There have already been fake Gaza fundraiser accounts and fake accounts falsely claiming to be British MPs.Of course, fake accounts are not unique to Bluesky. If you’ll recall, Musk’s X had to temporarily shut down its paid verification system when it first launched due to an influx of paid fake accounts. And Bluesky has been pretty good so far at quickly shutting down accounts that have been reported for breaking the platform’s rules. However, Bluesky is fairly new. 20 million users is a lot, but it’s still only 20 million users, and a lot of…As Bluesky surpasses 20 million users, beware the fake accounts