Brazil’s X Shutdown: A Digital Shakedown You Won’t Forget

Just hours before X went dark in Brazil, Adrienni Rodrigues, a music producer, rushed onto the social network to share the biggest news of her career: the launch of her first album.

The Hustle Before the Shutdown

She had spent nearly three years making the record with a team of other artists. Now, Ms. Rodrigues feared she would be cut off from her 4,000 followers before she could urge them to tune in. “I had just enough time to post about it,” said Ms. Rodrigues, 30, a beatmaker and D.J. known by her stage name, Gau Beats. “An hour or two later, X was already down and I couldn’t see anything anymore.”

The Brazilian Xodus

To fill the void, Brazilians flocked to other platforms. Bluesky, a social network similar to X, attracted a wave of new subscribers and saw its daily active users in Brazil more than double in just days, to 7.7 million, according to the digital intelligence firm Similarweb. Daily users on Threads, the X competitor from Meta, grew by nearly a third, reaching 3.5 million users.

But both platforms enjoyed surges in new users when they debuted, only to quickly lose steam. It is unclear whether Brazilians will stick with those platforms and, according to Mr. Ayub, it may depend on how long X remains offline in the country. “If it takes too long, then it creates a space, a vacuum.”

A Business Lifeline Cut Short

Ms. Rodrigues had come to rely on X as she built her career. It was where she connected with artists, found gigs, and promoted her work. So she was crestfallen when, with just hours of warning, Brazil’s Supreme Court blocked the platform last weekend after its owner, Elon Musk, refused to comply with court orders to suspend certain accounts.

Digital Economy’s Fragility

The idea that so many businesses and livelihoods could be suspended so swiftly, on the whims of a single tech executive challenging a judge, shows how the digital economy has become concentrated in the hands of just a few technology giants.

“These platforms, they foster, they create a certain economic ecosystem around them,” said Leonardo Nascimento, coordinator of the Digital Humanities Laboratory at the Federal University of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil.

An Uncharted New Frontier

Overnight, many Brazilians who had similarly built their businesses on X were thrown into a frenzied search for new platforms where many would have to start from scratch to reach clients, market their work, and connect with sponsors.

Community Disrupted

The shutdown also paralyzed a major segment of X that is, to the surprise of many, based in Brazil: celebrity fan accounts dedicated to artists from Cardi B and Beyoncé to Timothée Chalamet and Dianna Agron.

“We lost X, but X also lost Brazilians,” said Caroline Metta, 27, a lawyer who helps run a Dua Lipa fan account with more than 46,000 followers, which was earning income through X’s premium subscription as well as events, sponsorships, and merchandise deals.

The Personal Losses

The ban on X sent Adriano Kitani into a panic. The platform was where he got about 80 percent of his work as a freelance illustrator, mostly creating posters, T-shirts, and art for video game channels.

Hours before the platform was blocked more than a week ago, he hurried to warn clients abroad by direct message that he would be forced to log off indefinitely.

The Fan’s Dilemma

“With a new season of a popular reality show starting later this month, Mr. Dantas is rushing to adapt to new platforms with different features — and a more modest reach,” said Mr. Dantas. “It’s really sad. Because it’s like our home,” he said. “People love that place, people don’t want to leave.”

Potential Long-Term Effects

Ms. Rodrigues, the music producer, has embraced new platforms, too. On Threads, where she is building a following and promoting her album, she discovered a new community of artists and fans. “There was an upside to all this,” she said. “It opened up opportunities that I hadn’t really considered before.”

Platforms’ Comeback Efforts

Despite the exodus of users, the ban on Mr. Musk’s platform could have very little impact on its bottom line, with reports placing X’s revenues in Brazil at just 2 percent of its overall earnings.

Nathália Rodrigues de Oliveira, a financial adviser with nearly 650,000 followers on X, had tracked Mr. Musk’s fight with the courts — and began shifting to other social networks before X was banned.

Impact Summary

The Artist’s Perspective

Ms. Rodrigues, the music producer, has embraced new platforms, too. On Threads, where she is building a following and promoting her album, she discovered a new community of artists and fans.

“There was an upside to all this,” she said. “It opened up opportunities that I hadn’t really considered before.”

For Ms. Metta, the transition hasn’t been so seamless. Fans have been slow to switch over to other platforms, making it harder to rebuild her community.

“It’s like starting from scratch,” she said. “To be honest, we’re praying every day for X to come back.”

Cardi B, for one, seemed to notice. “Wait a lot of my fan pages are Brazilian!!! Come back hold up!!”

Jack Nicas contributed reporting.