Elon Musk claims Substack links were never blocked and Substack tried to “download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone”

Elon Musk broke his silence about the Twitter CEO's conflict with the online publishing site Substack and one of its biggest writers Matt Taibbi on Saturday.

Forbes 2023-04-09 Matt Novak

Discussion

@cspam@mastodon.cloud @cspam@mastodon.cloud on mastodon
lmao searching for “from:mtaibbi” now returns no results — watch their already radium-ass codebase end up with load-bearing bans like SA
@campuscodi@mastodon.social Catalin Cimpanu on mastodon
@Techmeme — So... they had a massive data breach? Is this what he's saying? Cause databases aren't free to access like that :))) — God... this guy is so clueless... which helps because you can see through his b.s. so easily
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
Downloading a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap my Twitter clone
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@BretWeinstein 1. Substack links were never blocked. Matt's statement is false. 2. Substack was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone, so their IP address is obviously untrusted. 3. Turns out Matt is/was an employee of Subst…
@paulg Paul Graham on x
Elon has asked me to “please tell people on Twitter that you are an investor in the company trying to kill Twitter,” so for anyone who didn't already know, Substack is a YC company.
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
Elon truly has created his own personal hell: a website that burdens him with billions of dollars of debt and embarrasses him repeatedly https://twitter.com/...
@paulg Paul Graham on x
It's not because I'm an investor that I think it's a mistake to penalize links to Substack though. It's just the wrong way to run a forum. You can't put your interests before users' like that. I would tell Substack the same thing.
@noahcarl90 Noah Carl on x
The founder of Substack's response: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@redsteeze Stephen L. Miller on x
“Substack links were never blocked” lol JFC this guy.
@sama Sam Altman on x
@paulg free speech absolutism on STEROIDS
@ruskin147 Rory Cellan-Jones on x
This is such BS from @elonmusk - marking Substack links as unsafe is as good as blocking them #StandDownElon https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac @mikeisaac on x
this is interesting — not exactly clear what musk means by Twtr database but it would be interesting if Substack was trying to recreate the follow graph somehow to kickstart their twitter clone (i think Facebook regularly used to cut off small startups that attempted similar)
@jamesrbuk James Ball on x
Substack is the wrong enemy for Elon: shared investors, shared influencers, and more. Even his beloved Community Notes aren't on his side here. https://twitter.com/...
@mikeelgan Mike Elgan on x
Substack's reply: https://twitter.com/...
@craigcalcaterra Craig Calcaterra on x
Musk is so knowingly full of shit here it's not even funny. He obviously throttled and blocked Substack links and a person who writes a Substack newsletter is no more an employee of Substack than someone who tweets is an employee of Twitter. https://twitter.com/...
@jbenton Joshua Benton on x
1. Blocked from being retweeted, liked, or replied to. 2. Whether or not Substack was doing that, it has absolutely zero to do with whether users can retweet, like, or reply to tweets linking to Substack pieces. 3. Who cares?
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
@paulg It's very revealing that he thinks of it that way around. People are running for the exits because he's trying to bolt them. Every time he does something to destroy trust, people build backup plans, and trying to ban the backup plans is what destroys the trust. Vicious cir…
@charlesarthur Charles Arthur on x
Impressive: two completely wrong assertions (1 and 3, confirmed 1 myself) and one of very doubtful veracity. Surprised we haven't been promised a self-driving Twitter yet; it would be as likely. https://twitter.com/...
@markyzaguirre Mark R. Yzaguirre on x
I guess item 3 is a confirmation that the Elon Musk / Matt Taibbi bromance is history.
@daniellemorrill Elle Morrill on x
If Substack is what finally kills Twitter after all the other bullshit I will eat my hat
@drkarlynb @drkarlynb on x
Bro, you punished every substack writer by making it impossible for our links to be shared, liked or replied to. If you can't compete with them, that's your problem, not ours. You literally have an API. And @mtaibbi makes all his money from substack, what did you expect???
@sofain So Fain on x
So now Elon is throwing shade at the guy he got to shill his “Twitter files” flop? I fucking love what an absolute shitshow this place has become. https://twitter.com/...
@bfriedmandc Brandon Friedman on x
Welp, that's the end of Community Notes https://twitter.com/...
@ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x
Surprised Substack's largest outside shareholder (a16z) hasn't publicly come to their defense
@damonimani Damon Imani on x
I still can't believe users can fact check the owner of a platform on his own platform. This is a W for @elonmusk and tweeters. https://twitter.com/...
@michaeldweiss Michael Weiss on x
We've reached the Zinoviev-Kamenev Trial stage of this revolution and it is hilarious. https://www.emptywheel.net/...
@alexandrosm @alexandrosm on x
For what it's worth this is elons side of the story which might be technically correct, but that's the worst kind of correct. It's not correct in essence. https://twitter.com/...
@davew@mastodon.social Dave Winer on mastodon
When all is said and done the value of twitter is its role as the place of record for public communication. It maintained that even after banning the president of the United States. But that is the very thing that Musk is dismantling.
@WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social Warner Crocker on mastodon
Irony may be experiencing a bit of a resurrection. Everybody's favorite Twitter Files whipping boy Matt Taibbi is quitting Twitter because the muskies have cut off links to Substack. — #substack #twitter
@drewharwell@mastodon.social Drew Harwell on mastodon
Twitter did the same thing with Mastodon in December, then suspended journalists like me who pointed that out https://www.theverge.com/...
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
What is happening on Twitter today is so funny that I can almost enjoy it
@jaspar@mastodon.online J Emory Parker on mastodon
having a hard time keeping track of what websites folks are and aren't allowed to talk about on the Free Speech website [twitter]
@Popehat@mastodon.social Ken White on mastodon
Her: What is it? Your fetish. Your deepest, darkest fantasy. You don't have to be afraid to . . . Me: THE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD FIGHTING — https://www.mediaite.com/...
@bigtechalert @bigtechalert on x
👀 @ElonMusk (Account that mostly reposts old memes) is no longer following @mtaibbi
@mtaibbi Matt Taibbi on x
Of all things: I learned earlier today that Substack links were being blocked on this platform. When I asked why, I was told it's a dispute over the new Substack Notes platform...
@maxwelltani Max Tani on x
Matt Taibbi emails subscribers to his Substack saying he will no longer be using Twitter because of the platform's restrictions on engaging with Substack links https://twitter.com/...
@oalexanderdk Oliver Alexander on x
Elon claims that Substack links were never blocked, Substack was downloading Twitter's database and that Matt Taibbi is a Substack employee. Substack CEO Chris Best refutes all three points. I wonder who to believe? Chris Best or a pathological liar? https://twitter.com/... https…
@slickrockweb Eric Ellason on x
All the breathless right-wing Twitter spaces spent on the #TwitterFiles ... I almost feel sorry for all the time they wasted .... nah ... I don't. Good tweet from the great Ben Collins https://twitter.com/...
@mehdirhasan Mehdi Hasan on x
Update: today Elon Musk accused Matt Taibbi of making false statements. 🤷🏽‍♂️ https://twitter.com/...
@ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x
Where is the Twitter free speech crowd right now? @DavidSacks @pmarca @antoniogm Twitter even seems to be stifling independent coverage of censorship of the newsletter platform that shall not be named.
@senronjohnson Senator Ron Johnson on x
.@elonmusk, you say Twitter isn't blocking Substacks. Ok, so I'll ask again: Why did Twitter block my tweet about the death of a 14 yr-old in Japan following a Covid-19 booster? Twitter labeled the Truth “unsafe.” Why? https://twitter.com/...
@konstantinkisin Konstantin Kisin on x
It's blocking them RIGHT NOW and preventing likes and retweets on tweets with such links in them. I really hope this is some kind of technical error and not a policy decision... https://twitter.com/...
@hansmahncke Hans Mahncke on x
A lot of acrimony could've been avoided if Twitter had just issued a statement: “We've restricted Substack because they were downloading a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone.” Remember that old Twitter was hated due to lack of transparency. h…
@sethabramson Seth Abramson on x
What the hell does this even mean? Substack links were put behind a fake warning page that falsely called the site “unsafe,” then RTs, likes, comments, pins, bookmarks and searches were disabled for all Substack posts across all of Twitter. And Taibbi *doesn't* work for Substack.…
@tomcoates Tom Coates on x
We should remember that Musk's assaults on Substack are bad, but that Substack itself is not much better.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
This is likely a false and deceptive statement, and that's unlawful. Twitter not only blocked Substack links, but also refuses to let tweets to be embedded in Substack posts. Twitter is already under an FTC consent decree and I suspect Musk is going to be in real trouble. https:/…
@janiskirsteins Jānis Kiršteins on x
@paulg Elon is an investor in the company trying to kill Twitter.
@mehdirhasan Mehdi Hasan on x
“I like Elon Musk... I thought his motives were sincere...I admired them. I think he did a tremendous public service.” - Matt Taibbi to me... *checks notes*...yesterday.
@alexweprin Alex Weprin on x
Lol https://twitter.com/...
@mikedrucker Mike Drucker on x
I gotta give credit to the “account that mostly reposts old memes” part https://twitter.com/...
@oalexanderdk Oliver Alexander on x
Matt Taibbi is leaving Twitter. You can't make this shit up. Textbook “Leopards Eating People's Faces Party” moment. https://twitter.com/...
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
The Twitter Files https://twitter.com/...
@thelincoln Lincoln Michel on x
To recap Taibbi was handpicked by Musk to provide cover while Musk instituted anti-speech actions. Taibbi refused to criticize Musk's actions for fear of losing access. Then Musk threatened his income stream so he quit Twitter and lost access anyway 🤡 https://twitter.com/...
@plinz Joscha Bach on x
Banning substack links in an attempt to make substack remove functionality is almost as hamfisted and stupidly evil as banning Paul Graham's account over linking to mastodon https://www.racket.news/...
@sub8u @sub8u on x
Step 1: Shut down own newsletter product, Revue Step 2: Disable engagement to links to (supposed) competitor, Substack Step 3: Disable all mentions of ‘Substack’? Twitter's problem, for long, has been lack of a genuine competitor. It's now fighting itself https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Now that's one poorly aged tweet. https://twitter.com/...
@mattnavarra Matt Navarra on x
I never thought I'd say this im close to be being done with twitter
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
Just an insane unforced error. And one that can be easily sidestepped unless musk bans all url shorteners! Absolute bullshit god damn
@ditzkoff Dave Itzkoff on x
https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac @mikeisaac on x
friendship with taibbi ended now (?) is my best friend
@zakavkaza Maximilian Hess on x
“I never thought leopards would eat my face” sobs PR man who shilled for leopards eating faces party
@davewiner Dave Winer on x
Twitter is making Substack look good.
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Lot of faces getting eaten today. Incredible to see.
@oalexanderdk Oliver Alexander on x
This aged like milk inside a car in the summer heat. [Video of Taibbi on a CNBC interview saying he refuses to criticize Elon Musk]
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Huh — Matt Taibbi is leaving Twitter after the platform blocked Substack links. He said the decision “will come with a price as far as any future Twitter Files reports are concerned.”
@substackinc @substackinc on x
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.
@andylevy @andylevy on x
say what u will about musk but he's done a great job surrounding himself with the only people credulous, sycophantic, and outright dumb enough to always believe his obvious lies https://twitter.com/...
@jamiedupree Jamie Dupree on x
This tweet from Sen. Ron Johnson R-WI is being restricted by Twitter because Johnson has a link to a newsletter website that Elon Musk is trying to ban from Twitter. You also can't search for this tweet. https://twitter.com/...
@juddlegum Judd Legum on x
This tweet from Substack, which does not contain any links to Substack, is being restricted by @elonmusk and Twitter. Twitter is not allowing anyone to reply, like, or retweet the message. So Musk is not only suppressing speech, he's also suppressing discussion of his tactics htt…
@mattwelch Matt Welch on x
“If you're going to invest in your future on either Substack or Twitter, the choice is obvious: Substack.” https://www.calmdownben.com/ ...
@mattbinder Matt Binder on x
it appears that Twitter is even blocking interactions on Elon Musk's handpicked Twitter Files writer Matt Taibbi's Substack https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jayrosen_nyu Jay Rosen on x
On goes the unbuilding of Twitter, and the ruining of a public asset— even though it was a private company. https://www.nytimes.com/... “The company also covered the letter ‘w’ in the name ‘Twitter’ on a large public sign outside its San Francisco headquarters.”
@keithboykin Keith Boykin on x
Twitter is blocking users from engaging with posts that link to Substack and labels those links “unsafe.” Elon Musk is basically using Twitter to execute his personal vendettas against the New York Times, NPR, Substack, and any other entity he dislikes. https://www.washingtonpost…
@clarajeffery Clara Jeffery on x
“the company also covered the letter “w” in the name “Twitter” on a large public sign outside its San Francisco headquarters, in what some observers assumed was a vulgar joke.” The pathetic stunted adolescence would be sad, were he not dangerous. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dandrezner Daniel W. Drezner on x
Fun fact: you will be unable to like or RT this tweet because it includes a Substack link (you can QT it). Less fun fact: Elon Musk will abuse Twitter for a while without losing its network centrality. He will eventually destroy it, but it'll take time. https://danieldrezner.subs…
@jujuliagrace Dr Julia Grace Patterson on x
Err, very concerned to learn that Twitter has started blocking links to Substack?!🚨 This seems very weird. If you can see this tweet, pls could you ‘like’ it? And if anyone wants to sign up to my newsletter, try to click here! https://jujuliagrace.substack.com/ ... https://open.s…
@thezanesimon Zane Simon on x
Noticed this last night. Could drop one substack link on someone asking me, but when I dropped a second one I got a “Twitter has disabled this reply” message. https://twitter.com/...
@danrather Dan Rather on x
If someone like me can figure out a way to post my Steady Substack on Twitter, maybe Elon Musk isn't such a genius. (Please subscribe) https://steady.substack.com/
@justinamash Justin Amash on x
Limiting the reach of independent writers on Substack who challenge the narratives of the corporate press is a bad move by @Twitter. @elonmusk, people use Twitter as a home portal for all communications platforms. That's one of its strengths. Don't make it a closed environment. h…
@howardlindzon Howard Lindzon on x
Elon Musk - I bought Twitter to save free speech Elon Musk - pay me $7 for free speech Elon Musk - thanks for the $7 so you could share free speech just don't do it from Substack.
@stkirsch Steve Kirsch on x
apparently, any tweet with a link to a substack in it can now no longer be liked, commented on, or re-tweeted. it can only be quote tweeted and those quote tweets in turn cannot be liked, commented on, or re-tweeted. This is free speech?!?!
@alexreimer1 Alex Reimer on x
Elon's war on substack is shitty. Tweeting out substack articles is a great way for freelancers & different writers to get eyes on their work—and maybe make some side money, too. Some champion for free speech.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
It's definitely seeming like I should start shifting my time-wasting hobby over to the new @substackinc Notes feature https://substack.com/...
@substackinc @substackinc on x
A statement from our founders: Any platform that benefits from writers' and creators' work but doesn't give them control over their relationships will inevitably wonder how to respond to the platforms that do.
@martinsfp @martinsfp on x
S*bstack has published a post responding to Twitter blocking its links and indirectly responding to reports of its poor finances. As I can't link to it, here's a screenshot of the start of it. https://twitter.com/...
@martinsfp @martinsfp on x
He has to learn all this stuff firsthand for himself because he won't listen to experience as in his mind, experienced people are all ‘woke’, biased etc https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac @mikeisaac on x
a lot of what Elon is going through now are things that were litigated in the court of public opinion in 2010, when it was like IG vs Twtr, FB cutting off friend graph to startups, etc it's weird because it just feels so old (to me) and like a practice that had settled? https://t…
@jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x
For months now I and many other people have been looking for a viable alternative to Twitter that will actually hit critical mass. Substack, which will soon offer short-form posts, might be the answer. Which might be why Twitter has disabled all interactions with Substack links.
@junlper @junlper on x
reaping, sowing, etc https://twitter.com/...
@lulumeservey Lulu Cheng Meservey on x
Twitter has disabled likes, comments, or RTs on Substack links. On an unrelated note, please check out my Substack post below about how Twitter doesn't understand what users want. Just don't try to like or RT it (or do — for science). It'll disappear after a refresh. https://twit…
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
kinda wild this tweet is one year old https://twitter.com/...

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Elon Musk claims Substack links were never blocked and Substack tried to “download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone”

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