Twitter allegedly reduced the reach of posts with links or mentions to Substack, a newsletter platform that built a competing service; Elon Musk denies the allegations
OR Twitter would have blocked the posting of links from Substack, a popular newsletter platform. The owner of the website, Elon Muskhe denied the charge despite complaints.
Last week, some users noticed that tweets with Substack links were blocked or had significantly reduced reach. On Twitter, the journalist Leandro Demori demonstrated the effects of the restriction: total blocking of posts, error messages that prevented comments, likes and retweets and, finally, an absurdly reduced reach.
🚨 WARNING — WHAT’S HAPPENING IS VERY SERIOUS
Twitter blocked comments, likes and RTs of links in my newsletter, MY MAIN WORKING TOOL.
Google “Leandro Demori A Grande Guerra” and sign before I’m prevented from posting it here. pic.twitter.com/kMbp9NNdKr
— agrandeguerra.com.br (@demori) April 7, 2023
The effect was noticed by the company itself, which, on its official Twitter profile, warned users of the apparent block, also retweeting some of the reports.
Of all things: I learned today that Substack links were being blocked on this platform.
When I asked why, I was told that it is a dispute over the new Substack Notes platform…
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) April 7, 2023
When the suppression of tweets showed signs of being over, the platform was lifted. “We are happy to see that the suppression of Substack posts on Twitter appears to be over. This is the right move for writers, who deserve the freedom to share their work,” the platform said. “We believe Twitter and Substack can continue to coexist and complement each other,” she continued.
We are pleased to see that the suppression of Substack postings on Twitter appears to be over. This is the right move for writers, who deserve the freedom to share their work.
— Substack (@SubstackInc) April 9, 2023
The rivalry sparked discussion
Recently, Substack announced Notes, a text-based subscription social network that is in effect another rival to Twitter. The tool will allow users of the platform to share quick thoughts, the so-called “Notes” (“Notes”, in free translation) such as texts, images, links and videos, but also to interact with them with comments and likes.
The news was revealed on April 5, and in the same week, publications related to the nearby platform began to be silenced. The suspicion of users and the media was that Twitter limited the scope of posts that mentioned the rival to minimize the spread of the news.
The suspicion is not in vain
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Twitter was, in fact, limiting the scope of Substack-related posts: in December of last year, the platform announced that the tweets mention rival apps (Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon, for example) would be excluded. The measure was reversed shortly after, in the face of a wave of complaints from Passarinho Azul users.
Despite not being implemented, the announcement revealed two things: first, that Twitter can limit the reach of posts with certain words and links; the second is that the company, led by Elon Musk, is prepared to limit mentions of competing services to stay at the top, even if it is an unprecedented measure.
Elon Musk denies the allegations
Upon learning of the complaints, Elon Musk denied that Twitter was limiting tweets mentioning Substack. “Links to Substack have never been blocked,” he said. Subsequently, he denied the allegations of journalist Matt Taibbi, which gave rise to the rumor of hidden restrictions.
1. Substack links have never been blocked. Matt’s statement is false.
2. Substack was trying to download a huge chunk of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone, so their IP address is obviously not trusted.
3. It turns out that Matt is/was an employee of Substack.
— Harry Bolz (@elonmusk) April 8, 2023
“Substack was trying to offload a huge chunk of Twitter’s database to develop the competitor, so its IP address became untrusted,” he added.
Substack CEO responded sharply to Elon Musk
On the platform itself, Substack CEO Chris Best responded to Elon Musk’s post also denying the allegations and stating that the company has always followed the terms of using Twitter’s APIs. “Substack links have clearly been suppressed on Twitter. Any user of the product can see it,” he pointed out.
“We’ve used the Twitter API for years to judge authors. We think we’re ok with the terms of use, but if they have any concerns about them, we’d love to hear what they are. We’d be happy to address any concerns,” he said. added in the post. .
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Source: Terra
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