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A new social media platform called Twitter.now has launched amid an ongoing legal dispute between its parent company, Operation Bluebird, and Elon Musk’s X Corporation over the rights to the Twitter name and trademarks.
The Virginia-based startup was founded by Stephen Coates, a former general counsel at Twitter, and says it is seeking to revive the platform’s identity before Musk acquired it in 2022 and renamed it X.
The launch came after months of waiting for a written ruling from a US federal court in Delaware concerning the trademark dispute.
Here are seven things to know about Twitter.now:
1. It is not affiliated with Elon Musk’s X
Twitter.now says it has no connection with X Corporation and describes itself as a separate platform seeking to rebuild the social network associated with the original Twitter.
Operation Bluebird argues that X abandoned rights to some of the Twitter-related trademarks after Musk acquired the company and changed its name.
2. The platform is at the centre of a trademark dispute
X Corporation sued Operation Bluebird late last year after the startup sought to claim Twitter trademarks and prepare to launch its own platform.
At a hearing in April 2026, US District Judge Colm Connolly reportedly issued a tentative ruling indicating that X may have abandoned intellectual property claims involving the word “tweet”, the Twitter bird logo and potentially the Twitter name.
However, the judge has not yet issued a written order.
Coates said Operation Bluebird interpreted the judge’s comments as sufficient grounds to proceed with the launch.
3. It retains features from the original Twitter
Twitter.now currently has hundreds of users and includes familiar features such as replies and reposts.
The company says it is attempting to recreate aspects of the original Twitter experience while introducing new systems aimed at improving trust and reducing harmful content.
4. It uses AI to fact-check posts
One of Twitter.now’s notable features is Vera, an artificial-intelligence tool described by the company as a real-time “veracity engine”.
The Gemini-based system is designed to analyse posts and provide users with information about the accuracy or trustworthiness of claims.
5. Users can control their level of trust
Twitter.now has introduced a feature called Trust Dial, which allows users to determine how much they want to rely on trust-based signals when deciding what content appears in their feeds.
The company says the feature is intended to give users more control rather than leaving feed decisions entirely to an algorithm.
6. It prioritises freedom of speech but can limit reach
The platform says users should be able to express their views freely, but that freedom does not necessarily mean every post will receive maximum distribution.
Twitter.now says content that is spammy, manipulative, harassing or deliberately misleading may have its reach reduced.
Its “Birdhouse Constitution” also prohibits behaviour including threats, targeted harassment, doxxing, stalking and incitement.
7. Users pay for early access
Twitter.now is using a paid early-access model, with users able to pay $20 to become “Founders” and $40 or more to become “Fighters”.
The company says the model is intended partly to discourage bots and reduce its dependence on advertising.
Twitter.now also says it will not sell users’ data and that its rules apply equally regardless of a person’s wealth, political influence, popularity or follower count.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who has followed the dispute, said Operation Bluebird may have a “workable legal theory” for arguing that X abandoned the Twitter trademark, but warned that the legal battle was not over.
With the platform now launched, Gerben said the move had escalated the dispute and could prompt another response from X Corporation.
