Twitter Restricts Access to Tweets with Substack Links

As noted by The Verge, Twitter has started disabling likes, replies, and retweets to tweets that contain links to Substack posts.

While tweets linking directly to Substack.com can still be tweeted, trying to like those tweets shows a message saying, “Some actions on this Tweet have been disabled by Twitter.”

Trying to reply to a tweet with a Substack link causes a different error, which reads, “Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.”

Although screenshots of tweets could work in some cases, they’re less trustworthy because they don’t provide a direct link to the source.

Screenshots also won’t help you if you’re trying to embed a video that someone posted on Twitter.

The Elon Musk-owned social media network is apparently restricting promotion and visibility for tweets with links to Substack posts. The move follows Substack’s announcement of Notes, a Twitter competitor.

I can’t even reply to my own Tweet if it’s got a Substack link in it pic.twitter.com/LLaQuFksmM

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov)

April 7, 2023

In a statement to The Verge, founders of Substack Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Seth said:

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.

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.

In a tweet posted earlier today, Substack says it is investigating reports that “Twitter embeds and authentication no longer work on Substack.”

The company says it is “actively trying to resolve this” and will share updates as additional information becomes available.