- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
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- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
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- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
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- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
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- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
Brazilians flock to Bluesky and Threads after X suspension
Millions of Brazilians, including the president, have flocked to social media platforms such as Threads or Bluesky, where Portuguese has become the most spoken language in the few days since Elon Musk's X was shut down in the country.
"Is anyone there?" asked numerous Brazilian netizens as they made their first tentative forays onto Bluesky, which said it had added more than two million new users since South America's largest nation banned X.
Access to the social network formerly known as Twitter was blocked on Saturday amid a standoff between Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has made it his mission to crack down on disinformation.
The powerful and controversial judge took the measure after Musk, who calls himself a "free-speech absolutist," ignored a series of court decisions.
Bluesky, a social media network created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, now counts 7.6 million users since the X suspension in Brazil.
Meanwhile, searches in Brazil for the term "Threads" have quadrupled since the ban.
The social network launched a little over a year ago by Meta -- which also owns Facebook and Instagram -- has 190 million users worldwide.
Threads did not respond to AFP requests for comment on new users since X went off the air.
However, both applications were among the most downloaded in Brazil in recent days, according to the Google Play Store.
- 'More welcoming' -
"I feel like I've entered a more welcoming and less aggressive community, even if I miss the sincerity that was on X," said Leon Leal, a student who has turned to Threads after a decade on the former Twitter.
Brazil counts 140 million Instagram users, making the transition towards Threads easier as it requires the same login details.
University professor Raul Nunes, who created a Twitter account in 2007, preferred to shift to Bluesky.
"Bluesky has the advantage of having the same language and references as Twitter. However, it is a pity it doesn't have a 'Trending Topics' section and that you can't publish videos," he said.
Given the uncertainty over the fate of X, it is unclear whether the migration will have a lasting effect on the social networking landscape in Brazil, an ultra-connected country with more smartphones than inhabitants.
Raquel Recuero, an expert in social networks at the Federal University of Pelotas (Ufpel) in southern Brazil, said stranded X users will "probably spread across different platforms."
- Hard-to-find profiles -
Viktor Chagas, professor of cultural and media studies at the Federal University of Fluminense (UFF), said Brazilians were quickly moving to other platforms to stay connected to public debate in their country as well as trends elsewhere.
But the fact that these other platforms have a much smaller user base worldwide "can represent a certain isolation for Brazil."
Leal, for example, said he struggled to find Bluesky profiles for personalities he followed on X.
Chagas said Threads may have more users due to its link to Instagram, but it "arouses more distrust because it belongs to the Meta group" amid widespread concerns about data protection and online privacy.
Brazilian political figures are also looking for a new home online to stay connected to their base in a highly polarized country prone to fierce online debate.
Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has begun publishing regular messages on Threads and Bluesky.
But there are still a few diehards, like his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, a fervent admirer of Elon Musk, who still does not have an account on Bluesky and uses Threads to promote his account on the Telegram messaging service.
Moraes threatened a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) to anyone who used "technological subterfuges" to get around the block, such as a VPN -- but some continue to do so.
One of Bolsonaro's loyalists, the fiery deputy Nikolas Ferreira, 28, declared on X on Monday: "I did not create an account on Bluesky. X is my country."
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN