UNITED STATES - MARCH 9: Matt Taibbi, a journalist, testifies during the House Judiciary Select ... [+]
Matt Taibbi, a journalist who worked on the “Twitter Files” series of articles about old business decisions at Twitter, has said he’ll no longer use the social media platform. Taibbi is apparently frustrated by Twitter’s recent decision to heavily restrict all links and tweets about Substack following that company’s announcement it would be launching Substack Notes, a short form social network and potential competitor to Twitter.
Any Twitter user who even tries to retweet a post from Substack is met with a notification, “some actions on this Tweet have been disabled by Twitter,” a move that has angered many users, including Taibbi.
“Earlier this afternoon, I learned Substack links were being blocked on Twitter. Since being able to share my articles is a primary reason I use Twitter, I was alarmed and asked what was going on,” Taibbi wrote at his Substack on Friday afternoon.
“It turns out Twitter is upset about the new Substack Notes feature, which they see as a hostile rival. When I asked how I was supposed to market my work, I was given the option of posting my articles on Twitter instead of Substack,” Taibbi continued.
Taibbi decided it simply wasn’t worth it to stick around at Twitter if he can’t post links to his work at Substack and announced “early next week I’ll be using the new Substack Notes feature” instead of Twitter.
Taibbi had previously tweeted that he asked Twitter CEO Elon Musk personally why Substack was being limited on Twitter and didn’t receive a response. It’s not immediately clear if Taibbi received news about the reasons behind Substack’s limitations directly from Musk or from another person at Twitter. [Update, April 8: Musk finally broke his silence about his feud with Taibbi and Substack on Saturday.]
Substack told me over email that it was disappointed in Musk’s decision to restrict Substack.
“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,” a joint statement from Substack co-founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi reads.
“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,” the statement continues.
Musk was heralded by some as a champion of free speech when he first bought Twitter in October 2022. But it quickly became obvious the social media platform would serve as his own personal fiefdom rather than a platform governed by any coherent set of principles.
Musk, for instance, reinstated the accounts of many people who had been banned from Twitter, only to ban them yet again for breaking the same rules they broke before he took charge. Musk’s friend Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was an example of someone who had been banned on Twitter but was reinstated by Musk before he was banned yet again for posting antisemitic imagery.
And other accounts, like those of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, didn’t even get re-activated. Musk previously called himself a “free speech absolutist” and said the rules governing Twitter should be any legal speech. But Jones was banned because Musk apparently doesn’t like him, something the billionaire has expressed in tweets.
Some major advertisers have reportedly been reluctant to place ads on Twitter and many don’t even want to be seen with Elon Musk at an upcoming marketing conference in Miami, according to a report from Semafor this week. Musk is often celebrated as a business genius, but he’s clearly shot himself in the foot more than once since acquiring Twitter.
Elon Musk unfollowed Taibbi on Twitter shortly after the journalist made his announcement, according to Big Tech Alert, a Twitter account that tracks activity in the world of tech news.
Musk, as the owner of Twitter, is clearly free to do whatever he likes with the platform. But no one should think he’s operating on some kind of coherent strategy beyond doing whatever he feels like implementing that day. Substack is launching a competitor to Twitter and Musk doesn’t like it. So that’s why Substack links are banned. At least for now.
