Twitter bans liking, retweeting Substack link: Here’s why

Twitter users witnessed something bizarre on late Friday evening when they were trying to interact with tweets containing Substack links. Not only could they not comment on tweets containing Substack links, but they also couldn’t like, or retweet linked articles on the platform. Substack users on the platform also reported that while they could still share their links on the platform, that is now owned by Elon Musk, they couldn’t comment on their own tweet to form a Twitter thread. Also Read: Elon Musk’s xAI Fires 500 Employees? Report Suggests Major Layoffs

As it goes, Twitter has reportedly restricted access to embedded links from the online publishing platform Substack on its platform. The company has also restricted promotion and visibility for tweets with links to Substack posts. As mentioned before, while users can still embed Substack links in their tweets, that is as far as the interaction and visibility goes. Also Read: Elon Musk Shows How Grok Imagine Can Turn Your Odd Ideas Into Shareable Talking Videos

Susbtack responded to the matter saying that it was investigating the matter. “We’re investigating reports that Twitter embeds and authentication no longer work on Substack. We are actively trying to resolve this and will share updates as additional information becomes available,” the company said in a statement. Also Read: Elon Musk's X Launches XChat For All Users With Security Features And New Tools

Its founders, Chris Best, Jairaj Sethi, and Hamish McKenzie, on the other hand, put out a statement critising Twitter’s move. “…Twitter started blocking links to Substack. We hope this action was made in error and is only temporary. Writers deserve the freedom to share links to Substack or anywhere else…If writers and creators don’t own their relationships with their audiences, they’re not in control,” they wrote in a statement.

This writer- and reader-first model represents the future of the internet.

While incumbents may take actions to stymie this shift, we’ll be working hard to ensure that writers and creators get only more ownership and control of their futures. https://t.co/P8xl9ideKv

— Substack (@SubstackInc) April 7, 2023

Twitter, however, hasn’t commented on the matter yet.

Why has Twitter restricted Substack on its platform?

While Twitter hasn’t exactly shared if the entire fiasco is an error or a deliberate move, it isn’t hard to guess that the dissent follows the publishing platform releasing its own Notes feature, which is a lot like Twitter’s own Notes feature. “In Notes, writers will be able to post short-form content and share ideas with each other and their readers…Notes will give them the ability to recommend almost anything—including posts, quotes, comments, images, and links,” the company had said while announcing the feature. So, blocking interaction on Substack links could be Twitter’s way of warding off competition.