- Operation Bluebird launches twitter.now, a social network that recovers the aesthetics and name of Twitter, despite the litigation with X Corp.
- The startup bases its strategy on the alleged abandonment of the brand by Elon Musk, relying on a preliminary ruling from April 2026.
- The platform includes VERA, a fact-checking system based on Google's Gemini, and offers founder memberships for $20 and $40.
- Legal experts warn that the dispute is far from resolved and that X Corp could respond forcefully.
The US startup Operation Bluebird has launched twitter.now , a new social network that aims to revive the spirit of classic Twitter. The project comes after months of legal battles with Elon Musk's X Corp over the rights to the trademark and iconic blue bird logo. The platform is already operational in an initial phase, with hundreds of registered users and access contingent on paying for a founder membership.
The launch comes after a preliminary ruling issued in April 2026 by U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly of Delaware, which indicated that X Corp may have relinquished its rights to the trademarks 'Twitter', 'tweet', and the logo. Although the written order has not yet been made public, those behind Operation Bluebird have interpreted the judge's words as sufficient green light to proceed. Stephen Coates , co-founder and general counsel of the new platform, told Ars Technica: "We're a small company, we have investors, and we have a product. We've waited months and months to launch, and we're not going to wait any longer."
A legal battle over the brand
The dispute began in late 2025 when Operation Bluebird petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel X Corp's trademark registrations for the words 'Twitter' and 'tweet'. The startup argues that after Musk's acquisition of the social network in 2022 and its subsequent rebranding to X in July 2023, the company ceased actively using those trademarks, which, under U.S. law, constitutes a presumption of abandonment after three years of inactivity. X Corp responded with a countersuit and updated its terms of service to prohibit the use of the name without consent, but Judge Connolly suggested at the April hearing that Musk's company appeared to have relinquished the intellectual property rights.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who is closely following the case, warned Ars Technica that while the legal theory behind Operation Bluebird is "viable," the social network's launch intensifies the conflict. Gerben noted that X Corp. will likely respond forcefully , as the dispute now involves not just trademark applications but a visible commercial operation. The twitter.now website itself makes it clear that it is "not affiliated with X" and that the project seeks to rebuild the "public square" on a foundation of trust.
What Twitter.now offers
The twitter.now interface replicates the classic Twitter experience: a side panel with the feed, Explore, and notifications; a central composer for posting messages; and a right-hand column with custom trends. Users can reply and retweet, just like on the old platform. In this initial phase, access is tied to two Founder memberships: one for $20 (about €17) and another for $40. The first grants Founder status and a badge, while the second, called 'Fighter,' is intended to fund the project's legal defense against X Corp.
The big news is VERA , an automated fact-checking tool based on Gemini, Google's artificial intelligence model. VERA runs on every tweet and aims to provide context or warnings about false or misleading content. Stephen Coates has been testing the system with deliberately incorrect claims, such as George Washington being the second president of the United States, to measure its accuracy. The co-founder explained that the goal is to "reclaim a safer and less dangerous public square," distinguishing between freedom of expression and freedom of reach: users can say whatever they want, but the platform will not be financially tied to the dissemination of harmful viral content.
Reactions and uncertain future
The launch has generated mixed reactions. While some see twitter.now as an opportunity to recapture the essence of the social network, others point out that the litigation is far from over. Judge Connolly has yet to issue a written order, and X Corp retains the option to escalate the case with a formal lawsuit for trademark infringement. Furthermore, the platform will have to demonstrate that it can attract a community beyond its initial hundreds of users, competing with Twitter alternatives like Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky.
For entrepreneurs, the case offers practical lessons: the importance of auditing unused trademarks, the value of having legal specialists who know the field, and the possibility of using nostalgia as a market asset. The David and Goliath battle presented by Operation Bluebird could set a precedent for how intellectual property rights are managed in the digital ecosystem, but the outcome remains uncertain.
For now, twitter.now combines a limited launch, a favorable interpretation of the court's preliminary comments, and an artificial intelligence tool that promises to verify every post. X Corp's response was swift, and the next steps in court will determine whether the Twitter name can return as an independent brand or if the project will have to change its identity. Meanwhile, the website remains active, accepting founders and reminding users that "the square is back."