Operation Bluebird, a Virginia-based startup founded by former Twitter executives, including Stephen Coates, has launched a new platform called Twitter.now, proclaiming that the blue bird is back. Coates took to LinkedIn this week to make the announcement, urging users to “get over your X” and emphasizing that Twitter.now is not just a recreation of the old platform. The mission is clear: a small team is taking Twitter back, and it’s being rebuilt on trust.
The campaign kicked off in December 2025 when Operation Bluebird filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office, aiming to cancel X’s trademarks for “Twitter” and “tweet.” They argued that X had abandoned these trademarks after stripping away the Twitter branding and replacing it with X. In a bold move, they applied for their own Twitter trademark. However, things heated up when Musk’s X slapped Operation Bluebird with a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement and trying to stifle their efforts to launch the platform.
But hold on to your hats! The startup fought back and emerged victorious in US District Court. Judge Colm Connolly issued a tentative ruling suggesting that X might have abandoned its claims to the trademarks, giving Operation Bluebird the green light to proceed with their ambitious plans. As it stands, Twitter.now is currently in the early access phase, where eager users can sign up as “founders” for a fee of $20 (€17). This move not only allows them to help build and test the platform but also to secure their preferred handles ahead of time.
Now, here’s the kicker: members are also being asked to chip in an additional $40 (€34) to join “the fight.” Yes, you heard that right; this startup is in a legal showdown against X, which they liken to a classic “David & Goliath” battle, pitting their small team against “the richest man alive.”
But X isn’t taking this lying down. They maintain that millions of users still access the old Twitter URL and continue to refer to posts as “tweets.” This ongoing saga is far from over. One of the key features that Twitter.now promises is transparency and credibility. The startup is rolling out a unique feature allowing users to “set the dial” on the amount of “trusted” versus “low trust” content in their feeds. While the specifics on how trust is determined remain under wraps, the website assures users that it will operate under “the Birdhouse Constitution and Community Guidelines.”
The company has made it clear that it intends to ban illegal content, child exploitation, threats of violence, harassment, scams, and other harmful behavior, with policies expected to evolve as the platform grows. This comes in light of widespread criticism that X has strayed from its original values, with an estimated 33 million dissatisfied users globally seeking more reliable alternatives.
So, what’s next for Operation Bluebird and their ambitious quest to revive Twitter? Are we witnessing the dawn of a new social media era? Only time will tell…
Kaynak: Orijinal Haber