A new report has found 385 out of the 500 journalists surveyed still had a profile on X but the data found engagement is ramping up elsewhere.

The report, The strange death of liberal X: An analysis of media usage of X, Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky, by Fire On The Hill and Mercury Analytics found Bluesky was the second most preferred amongst media professionals with125. Meanwhile Threads (87) and Mastodon (45) still lagged behind.

The analysis of 500 journalist profiles also found 25% of journalists had joined Bluesky vs. 17% on Threads, and 9% on Mastodon, and 75% of Bluesky media users posted within one month of the research, compared with only 36% of X users.

David Clare, director at Fire on the Hill said: “While many journalists still have accounts on X, they are clearly using Bluesky more actively. This suggests brands looking for an alternative to X should take to Bluesky. However, it is important to take note of which platforms journalists in their sector are most deeply engaging with.”

However, despite X holding the most profiles, the report suggested they may not be as engaged as those on Bluesky.

It found only 36% of journalists had posted on X within the last month, compared to 75% of Bluesky. Journalists in the education and national sectors remain “firmly rooted” on X, with active usage rates of 94% and 96% respectively.

Chris Clarke, co-founder at Fire on the Hill said: “We have seen many companies, journalists, and other organisations leaving X on values-based grounds, and it is important that brands consider how their affiliation with certain platforms can impact how their brand is perceived.

“Since the advent of Twitter, microblogging has been a valuable way to communicate by journalists to source emerging stories and capture sentiment around key issues, and so it is important that brands find the right platform for them.”

Read the full report here