Twitter has a retention problem, with more than one million users leaving the platform.
Musk’s Twitter takeover has been rocky, to say the least. Some of its top executives have been fired or resigned, content moderation has been scaled back, and major changes have been made to the verification process.
Amid the changes, it appears the platform is dealing with a mass exodus, according to MIT Technology Review. Citing data from firm Bot Sentinel, some 877,000 accounts were deactivated. What’s more, an additional 497,000 accounts were suspended. This is roughly twice the normal number for the period analyzed.
Read more: Mastodon Experiences Massive Growth After Musk/Twitter Deal
“We have observed an uptick in people deactivating their accounts and also Twitter suspending accounts,” says Christopher Bouzy, Bot Sentinel’s founder.
“We believe the uptick in deactivations is a result of people upset with Elon Musk purchasing Twitter and deciding to deactivate their accounts in protest,” added Bouzy, citing people’s comments about quitting the platform.
It’s still too early to know how Musk’s Twitter acquisition will ultimately work out, but the company’s first order of business may be to convince users not to abandon ship.