Twitter Substack Ban

Submission 3,095

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About

Twitter Substack Ban, also known as Elon Musk's Twitter vs. Substack Notes Controversy, refers to Twitter's censorship of tweets that link to the subscription newsletter platform Substack. Substack announced its short-form "Notes" feature in early April 2023, which many took to be a direct competitor to Twitter. Twitter then retaliated by blocking Twitter embeds on Substack posts and subsequently throttling the ability to share Substack links on Twitter itself. The events also led to handpicked Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi announcing his departure from Twitter in favor of his platform on Substack. The censorship block against interacting with Substack links was eventually lifted on April 8th, however, searches for the term "Substack" began redirecting to the word "newsletter" instead. Centering prominently around Elon Musk's leadership at Twitter, the early April 2023 event sparked backlash online as the controversy became widely discussed and covered in the media.

Background

On the morning of April 5th, 2023, the Twitter^[1] account @SubstackInc posted a tweet announcing the release of its upcoming "Notes" feature, gathering over 1,000 likes in five days (seen below, left). On April 6th, The Verge then reported that Twitter was blocking the ability to embed tweets into Substack articles.^[2] That same day, Substack's official Twitter account, among others, noted that Twitter embeds in Substack articles were purportedly being throttled as well (seen below, right).^[6]^[11]

Developments

Twitter Blocks Interactions With Substack Links

On April 7th, 2023, various Twitter users began to notice that new tweets linking to a "Substack.com" domain were blocked from being replied to, retweeted or liked on Twitter.^[3]^[4]^[5] However, substack links with a custom domain were able to be liked and retweeted, as were Substack links that used a URL shortener.

Also on April 7th, Twitter^[7] user @krishnanrohit posted a tweet that read, "In other news, any link with substack in its name is now blocked on Twitter. You can post it, but you cannot like it or comment on it or retweet it," gathering over 3,200 likes in three days (seen below, left). That same day, Twitter^[8] user @AdamBienkov posted a tweet showing interactions with a Substack link being blocked by Twitter, gathering over 600 likes in three days (seen below, right).

Throughout the day on April 7th, 2023, some users noted that Twitter was purportedly blocking interactions with a particular tweet^[10] from @SubstackInc, although this block was subsequently lifted (seen below, left).^[9] Twitter^[12] user @MattBinder noted the block on interacting with Tweets from @SubstackInc as well (seen below, right). Substack co-founder Chris Best then reacted to the news later on the 7th as the controversy continued to grow.^[13]

Matt Taibbi Announces Departure from Twitter

On April 7th, 2023, various Twitter users began to notice that interactions with tweets from Matt Taibbi promoting his Substack newsletter were being throttled as well. Taibbi is notable for being one of few journalists handpicked for writing about the Twitter Files story. Twitter user @MattBinder posted a tweet showing interactions with Taibbi's tweets being censored on April 7th,^[14] going on to share screenshots from Taibbi's Substack chat in which Taibbi confirms that recent developments will make Twitter "unusable" for him (seen below).^[15]

Also on April 7th, Elon Musk reportedly unfollowed Taibbi's Twitter account (seen below, left),^[16] leading to people making jokes about Taibbi that perceived him as being a supporter of the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party. Twitter^[17] user @OAlexanderDK posted one such tweet on April 7th, gathering over 15,000 likes in three days (seen below, right).

On April 8th, Musk then replied to a tweet by @BretWeinstein denying that Substack links were "blocked" and alleging that Taibbi is an "employee" of Substack (seen below, left).^[18] Later that day, Substack co-founder Chris Best posted a reply refuting all of Musk's statements on the beta stage Substack Notes feature (seen below, right).^[19]

After April 8th, various users began noticing that searches for the word "Substack" on Twitter directed to the word "newsletter" instead.^[20]^[21]