Bluesky: Network Topology, Polarization, and Algorithmic Curation

TL;DR

Bluesky, a new decentralized social media platform, exhibits network properties similar to larger social networks and shows significant issues-based polarization, especially regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, despite limited political polarization in shared news sources.

Contribution

This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of Bluesky's network structure, user behavior, and political polarization, highlighting its similarities to larger platforms and unique divergence in issues-based opinions.

Findings

Network exhibits heavy-tailed distributions, high clustering, short paths

Limited uptake of custom feeds despite many created

No evidence of political polarization in shared news sources

Abstract

Bluesky is a nascent Twitter-like and decentralized social media network with novel features and unprecedented data access. This paper provides a characterization of its interaction network, studying the political leaning, polarization, network structure, and algorithmic curation mechanisms of five million users. The dataset spans from the website's first release in February of 2023 to May of 2024. We investigate the replies, likes, reposts, and follows layers of the Bluesky network. We find that all networks are characterized by heavy-tailed distributions, high clustering, and short connection paths, similar to other larger social networks. BlueSky introduced feeds-algorithmic content recommenders created for and by users. We analyze all feeds and find that while a large number of custom feeds have been created, users' uptake of them appears to be limited. We analyze the hyperlinks shared by BlueSky's users and find no evidence of polarization in terms of the political leaning of the news sources they share. They share predominantly left-center news sources and little to no links associated with questionable news sources. In contrast to the homogeneous political ideology, we find significant issues-based divergence by studying opinions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Two clear homophilic clusters emerge: Pro-Palestinian voices outnumber pro-Israeli users, and the proportion has increased. We conclude by claiming that Bluesky-for all its novel features-is very similar in its network structure to existing and larger social media sites and provides unprecedented research opportunities for social scientists, network scientists, and political scientists alike.