Bluesky now has over 40 million registered users, and the platform's most popular accounts look very different from what you'd find on X or Instagram. From politicians and journalists to Hollywood icons and satirical outlets, here are the accounts dominating Bluesky in February 2026—and why they matter.
Whether you're new to the platform or looking for fresh accounts to follow, this is the definitive guide to who's trending on Bluesky right now.
The 10 Most-Followed Individual Accounts on Bluesky (February 2026)
| Rank | Account | Followers | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | ~2.1 million | Politics |
| 2 | Mark Cuban | ~1.5 million | Business |
| 3 | George Takei | ~1.15 million | Entertainment |
| 4 | Mark Hamill | ~1.12 million | Entertainment |
| 5 | Stephen King | ~1.0 million | Author |
| 6 | Rachel Maddow | ~1.0 million | News/Media |
| 7 | The Onion | ~1.0 million | Satire |
| 8 | Quinta Brunson | ~500K+ | Entertainment |
| 9 | Poptime | ~396K | Pop Culture |
| 10 | The New York Times | ~320K+ | News |
Note: The official Bluesky account (@bsky.app) has over 20 million followers, but every new account auto-follows it, so it's excluded from individual rankings.
Trending Accounts by Category
Politics & Government
Bluesky has become the go-to platform for progressive political discourse in 2026. The most notable political accounts:
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – The undisputed queen of Bluesky, first individual to cross 1M followers (December 2024)
- Tina Smith – U.S. Senator advocating healthcare and education policy
- Joy Reid – MSNBC host with highly engaged following
- Chris Hayes – MSNBC host and political commentator
- Mehdi Hasan – Journalist and political analyst
An interesting trend: government accounts like The White House and ICE have joined Bluesky but became some of the most-blocked accounts on the platform. JD Vance holds the record at 168,797 blocks after his first post.
News & Journalism
Journalists have adopted Bluesky at a remarkable rate. According to Pew Research, 43% of news influencers now have Bluesky accounts—double the 21% before Election Day 2024. Even more telling: 81% of journalists on Bluesky actively post, compared to just 42% on X.
- The New York Times – Leading news presence on the platform
- The Washington Post – Major daily news coverage
- NPR – One of the most active media accounts
- The Guardian – Comprehensive international coverage
- BBC News – Global news updates
- TechCrunch – Posts updates every 15-20 minutes, one of the most active tech sources
- Kara Swisher – Tech journalist and podcast host
- Paul Krugman – Nobel Prize-winning economist
The takeaway: if you follow news on social media, Bluesky has become the most reliable platform for journalist activity in 2026.
Hollywood & Entertainment
The celebrity exodus from X in late 2024 brought a wave of A-list names to Bluesky. These accounts remain active and engaged in February 2026:
- Mark Hamill – Star Wars legend, mental health awareness
- George Takei – Star Trek icon, LGBTQ+ rights activist
- Stephen King – Bestselling author with sharp social commentary
- Jamie Lee Curtis – Deactivated X entirely, moved to Bluesky
- Quinta Brunson – Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary creator
- James Gunn – DC Studios co-head and filmmaker
- Guillermo del Toro – Oscar-winning director
- Ben Stiller – Actor, director, and philanthropist
- Barbra Streisand – Legendary entertainer
- Ryan Reynolds – Actor and entrepreneur
- LeVar Burton – Reading Rainbow host and literacy advocate
- Weird Al Yankovic – Parody music icon
Filmmakers are also well-represented: Rian Johnson, Matt Reeves, Edgar Wright, Christopher Miller, and Phil Lord all maintain active Bluesky accounts.
Music
- Lizzo – Grammy winner and body positivity advocate
- Flavor Flav – Hip-hop legend and cultural icon
- Chuck D – Public Enemy frontman and activist
Tech & Science
- Randall Munroe (@xkcd.com) – XKCD webcomic creator and science communicator
- William Gibson – Cyberpunk author and tech commentator
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – Digital rights and privacy advocacy
- John Green – Bestselling author and science educator
Humor & Satire
- The Onion – One of the most-followed accounts on the entire platform
- Dril (@dril.bsky.social) – The legendary absurdist humor account migrated from Twitter
- Patton Oswalt – Stand-up comedian and actor
- Rob Delaney – Comedian and writer
Sports
Bluesky has been gaining momentum as a sports conversation platform. Users have started calling it "the official app for sports" after massive community engagement during the 2025 World Series Game 7.
- Mina Kimes – ESPN analyst with an engaged sports community
- Seattle Kraken (NHL) – One of the first major sports teams on Bluesky
- Cleveland Guardians (MLB) – Early adopter among professional teams
Over 462 sports-related starter packs exist on Bluesky, covering everything from NFL to soccer to combat sports.
Viral Bluesky Moments That Defined 2025-2026
Understanding what's trending now means understanding how Bluesky's culture formed:
- The Great Twitter Exodus (Nov 2024): Bluesky gained 1 million users in a single day after the U.S. election, with dozens of celebrities publicly announcing their departure from X.
- The Zuckerberg T-Shirt (March 2025): Bluesky CEO Jay Graber wore a t-shirt mocking Mark Zuckerberg at SXSW. Both print runs sold out immediately—they made more from shirt sales in one day than two years of domain sales.
- The JD Vance Block Record (June 2025): Vice President Vance became the most-blocked person on the platform after his first post about gender-affirming care.
- Trending Topics Launch (December 2025): Bluesky rolled out its own trending topics feature, making real-time conversation discovery much easier.
- Drafts Feature (February 2026): One of the most-requested features finally shipped, signaling continued platform investment.
Why These Accounts Matter: Bluesky Demographics
The types of accounts trending on Bluesky reflect its unique user base:
| Demographic | Bluesky | Compared to X |
|---|---|---|
| Age: 18-24 | 42% | Much higher |
| Gender: Male | 64% | Similar |
| United States | 25.6% | Lower share |
| Brazil | 37.7% | Much higher |
| Japan | 8.7% | Higher share |
The platform skews younger and more progressive than X, which is reflected in the types of accounts that gain the most traction.
How to Discover Trending Accounts on Bluesky
Finding popular accounts on Bluesky works differently than on other platforms:
- Starter Packs: Curated lists of accounts organized by topic. Follow entire packs with one click. Over 335,000 starter packs exist on Bluesky.
- Custom Feeds: Subscribe to topic-based feeds that surface content (and creators) you'd never find through traditional browsing. Over 50,000 custom feeds are available.
- Trending Hashtags: Use real-time trending hashtags to discover who's driving conversations right now.
- The Discover Feed: Bluesky's built-in discovery algorithm surfaces popular content based on your interests and network.
Track Trending Accounts with Skyscraper
Stay on top of who's trending on Bluesky:
- Skyscraper for iOS – Native Bluesky client with advanced discovery tools
- Trending Hashtags – See what topics and accounts are trending right now
- Bluesky Tools – Monitor keywords, accounts, and mentions
Related Reading
- Most Followed Bluesky Accounts 2025-2026
- Top US Influencers on Bluesky 2026
- Celebrities Who Joined Bluesky in 2025
- Bluesky January 2026 Growth Update
- How Users Are Gaining Bluesky Followers in 2026