Twitter appears to be back, but not in the way a viral post suggested. A new social media platform called Twitter.now has launched from Operation Bluebird, a startup that says it has reclaimed the Twitter name after Elon Musk's X moved away from the brand.
The platform's launch followed months of legal arguments over whether X abandoned its rights to the Twitter trademarks. A viral post from claimed that 'Twitter 2 has officially launched' after a judge made tentative oral comments during a hearing; there was no final written ruling.
That post was community noted, with the correction pointing out that Operation Bluebird launched Twitter.now as a $20 (£15) paid early-access service, while the judge's comments in April 2026 were tentative and no final written ruling had been issued. Twitter.now says it is 'not X' and is not affiliated with X Corp.
Why Twitter.now Has Launched
Operation Bluebird's website presents the platform as an attempt to reclaim what it describes as the Twitter brand after Musk's takeover and subsequent rebrand to X.
Twitter 2 has officially launched.
— Pubity (@pubity) August 27, 2026
A judge gave the tentative ruling that X "abandoned" its rights to the Twitter trademark when Elon Musk tried to sue the new Twitter, so they've launched their own platform to compete with X. pic.twitter.com/pyvDI8UAu0
'The square is back. And this time, it's yours,' the website says, describing the project as a small team 'taking Twitter back'.
The platform is built around the idea of trust and user control. Its proposed VERA system is intended to give users more control over what appears in their feeds, including the ability to hide posts below a chosen trust score.
Twitter.now also offers paid early access. Users can pay $20 (£15) to become a Founder, which provides early access, a reserved handle and a Founder badge. Paying $40 (£30) or more makes someone a Fighter, which includes the Founder benefits and a separate badge intended to show support for the legal battle.
The site's language is openly framed as a fight against Musk's X. It describes the situation as 'David & Goliath', saying the other side has the money while Operation Bluebird has the mission and its supporters.
Twitter.now never names Elon Musk directly on their site, but allegedly refers to him by terming the fight against 'the richest man alive' which social media users have interpreted to be Elon.
Twitter 2 charging $20 to join something that will more than likely get shutdown after reaching an oddly specific financial threshold just seems an awful lot like this may just be Elon tricking motherfuckers into helping him fund more batshit changes for this chaotic hellscape. https://t.co/vpfWstsrTi
— Ramen, A Musical Person 🍜 (@RamenSymbiote) August 27, 2026
However, Twitter.now is not legally confirmed to have reclaimed the Twitter trademark. The company's position is based on its argument that X abandoned the relevant rights after moving away from the Twitter identity.
X and Operation Bluebird Are Already in Court
There is a real legal case between X Corp. and Operation Bluebird. X sued the startup in the US District Court for the District of Delaware in December 2025 in a trademark dispute. The case is X Corp. v. Operation Bluebird, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-01510. X alleges trademark infringement and has sought to prevent Operation Bluebird from using the Twitter branding.
Operation Bluebird had argued that X abandoned the Twitter and Tweet trademarks after Musk changed Twitter to X. X rejected that position, maintaining that the Twitter trademarks remained protected.
The dispute reached an important stage at an April 2026 hearing. Judge Colm Connolly made tentative comments suggesting that X appeared to have abandoned intellectual property claims relating to the word 'tweet' and the Twitter bird logo, and potentially the Twitter name as well.
Crucially, however, there has been no final written ruling establishing that X abandoned the Twitter trademark. Operation Bluebird nevertheless seemingly interpreted those comments as enough reason to proceed. Twitter.now launched on August 26, 2026, while the legal dispute remained unresolved.
So, can this be real? Yes, Twitter.now is a real platform and Operation Bluebird is a real company involved in an actual legal dispute with X. But the viral claim that a judge definitively ruled that X abandoned the Twitter trademark is not accurate.
Musk acquired Twitter in a deal valued at approximately $44 billion (£33 billion) in 2022, with shareholders receiving $54.20 (£40.80) per share in cash.
The new platform therefore represents a genuine attempt to use the Twitter name again, but whether Operation Bluebird can legally keep doing so remains for the courts to decide.
