The adage “the king is dead, long live the king” might apply to social media. A new platform called Twitter.now has emerged, styled after the original Twitter and even bearing its name, directly challenging Elon Musk's X, which now owns the trademark.
Operation Bluebird, a Virginia-based startup co-founded by Stephen Coates, who served as general counsel and board member at the original Twitter, launched the platform this week. Coates announced the move on LinkedIn with a defiant message: “Get over your X. The bird is back.”
He clarified that Twitter.now is not a mere replica of the old service. Instead, it aims to give users control over the content they see, based on the principle of “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach.” The platform's landing page states: “There was a place where the whole world came to talk. The richest man alive bought it, and broke it. We're a small team taking Twitter back — rebuilt on trust.”
Legal battle over the Twitter name
The campaign began in December 2025 when Operation Bluebird filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel X's trademarks on “Twitter” and “tweet,” arguing that X had abandoned them after rebranding to X. The startup simultaneously applied for its own Twitter trademark.
X responded by suing Operation Bluebird for copyright infringement, seeking to block the launch. However, a US District Court judge, Colm Connolly, issued a tentative ruling that X may have indeed abandoned the intellectual property claims, allowing the startup to proceed.
“This is a David and Goliath battle,” the website reads, framing the small team against “the richest man alive.” X maintains that millions of users still use the old Twitter URL and refer to posts as “tweets,” but the court's preliminary decision has given Operation Bluebird momentum.
Building a trusted alternative
Twitter.now is currently in early access, inviting users to sign up as “founders” for $20 (€17) to help test the platform and secure preferred handles. A $40 (€34) tier is also available, with proceeds going toward the legal fight against X.
The platform introduces a feature that lets users “set the dial” on how much “trusted” and “low trust” content appears in their feeds. The exact methodology for determining trust remains undisclosed, but the site references “the Birdhouse Constitution and Community Guidelines” as the governing framework.
Operation Bluebird says it will prohibit illegal content, child exploitation, threats of violence, harassment, scams, and other harmful conduct, with policies evolving as the platform grows. This is a direct response to criticisms that X has failed to uphold the original platform's values, prompting an estimated 33 million users worldwide to seek alternatives.
The launch of Twitter.now comes amid broader debates about social media regulation and free speech in Europe, where the EU's Digital Services Act imposes strict content moderation rules. While the platform is US-based, its implications for European users and the transatlantic tech landscape are significant. As European policymakers continue to scrutinize X's compliance with EU rules, the emergence of a rival claiming to prioritize trust could resonate with users across the continent.
For now, Twitter.now is a small-scale operation, but its founders are betting that the appeal of the blue bird remains strong. Whether it can truly challenge X's dominance remains to be seen, but the legal and public relations battle is just beginning.
