Twitter is limiting any tweets that include links to Substack in an apparent response to the blogging platform’s launch of a competitor.
Users reported on Friday that any tweets with Substack links in them could not be liked, retweeted, or replied to.
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The restrictions were imposed shortly after Substack, a platform for newsletters, announced Notes, its own Twitter competitor. Twitter also restricted the ability of users to embed tweets onto Substack the day before.
“We’re investigating reports that Twitter embeds and authentication no longer work on Substack,” Substack stated on Thursday after users reported that embedding tweets into Substack posts did not work. “We are actively trying to resolve this and will share updates as additional information becomes available.” The Washington Examiner tested the feature and found that direct Substack links were limited, while those with custom URLs were unaffected.
“We’re disappointed that Twitter has chosen to restrict writers’ ability to share their work. Writers deserve the freedom to share links to Substack or anywhere else,” Substack founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi said in a statement sent to the Washington Examiner. “This abrupt change is a reminder of why writers deserve a model that puts them in charge, that rewards great work with money, and that protects the free press and free speech. Their livelihoods should not be tied to platforms where they don’t own their relationship with their audience, and where the rules can change on a whim.”
Right, Twitter has crippled substack links for reasons that remain obscure. You can’t like, retweet, or reply to them. I have not been able to reply to my own test tweet (see below).
I’m putting this comment here to confirm that this is indeed the case.
— Helen Dale (not on your team, but always fair) (@_HelenDale) April 7, 2023
The link blocking is a sudden change for Twitter in light of both companies’ views on speech. Twitter owner Elon Musk held similar opinions on allowing all forms of speech on Twitter’s platform as Substack, which has presented itself as a less restrictive alternative to legacy media and social media. It allowed several popular Substack writers, including Matt Taibbi, to take the lead in reporting on internal documents from Twitter, often referred to as the Twitter Files.
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Several companies have also informed users that they had to cut out or paywall select features due to Musk placing the Twitter API behind a paywall.
Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.
