Vance briefly booted from Bluesky after joining platform
Vice President Vance was briefly suspended from the social media network Bluesky shortly after joining the platform on Wednesday, but was quickly reinstated online.
Publishing his first post on Bluesky Wednesday evening, Vance wrote, "Hello Bluesky, I've been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis. So I'm thrilled to be here to engage with all of you."
Vance attached a screenshot of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion published early in the day in United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors.
He followed up with two more posts encouraging conversation on Thomas' opinion.
Shortly later, users on X posted screenshots of Vance's account apparently suspended. The account was back online by Thursday morning.
The Hill reached out to Bluesky for comment. The social media company told multiple news outlets Vance's account was briefly flagged by its automated systems that look for impersonation attempts, including those of public figures.
The spokesperson said the account was "quickly restored and verified so people can easily confirm its authenticity," TechCrunch reported.
Bluesky surged in popularity last fall as Democrats publicly announced their departure from X, the social media network owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, in the wake of the presidential election.
Many users who quit X cited a “toxic” or “disturbing” environment, in part blaming Musk’s leadership and promotion of certain political stances as he grew closer to President Trump.
Some users have noted Bluesky is a hub for liberal individuals, but concerns have been raised in recent months that it has become an echo chamber.
Tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who regularly posted on Bluesky starting last fall, said earlier this month he believes more users are going back to X amid the lack of diverse conversations.
"The lack of diversity of thought here is really hurting usage," Cuban wrote in one post earlier this month.
“Engagement went from great convos on many topics, to agree with me or you are a nazi fascist,” Cuban added. “We are forcing posts to X.”