Substack's founders criticize Twitter, saying the abrupt change is a reminder of why writers need a platform “that protects the free press and free speech”
Substack is part of a seismic shift in the media economy … Shweta Ganjoo / Techlusive : Twitter bans liking, retweeting Substack link: Here's why Lon Harris / dot.LA : Twitter Goes to War With Substack Matt Binder / Mashable : Elon Musk apparently on the outs with Matt Taibbi over Twitter-Substack feud Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today : Twitter Restricts Linkage to Substack, Raising Questions About ‘Free Speech’ in the App Usman Qureshi / iPhone in Canada Blog : Twitter Restricts Access to Tweets with Substack Links Mukund Rathi / Electronic Frontier Foundation : EFF to Ninth Circuit: Twitter Has First Amendment Right to Ban Users, Including Presidents Steve Vegvari / MobileSyrup : Substack founders respond to Twitter's restrictions on tweets with links to competing platform Rebecca Klar / The Hill : Twitter restricts interactions with Substack links Tweets: @substackinc : 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 : 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/... Jamie Dupree / @jamiedupree : 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/... Judd Legum / @juddlegum : 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 https://twitter.com/... Matt Binder / @mattbinder : 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/... Dr. Curiosity / @drcuriosity : So, are you billionaire technocrat fanboys enjoying how free your speech is now? https://arstechnica.com/... Matt Welch / @mattwelch : “If you're going to invest in your future on either Substack or Twitter, the choice is obvious: Substack.” https://www.calmdownben.com/ ... Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu : 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.” Keith Boykin / @keithboykin : 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.com/ ... Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery : “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/... Daniel W. Drezner / @dandrezner : 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.substack.com/ ... Dr Julia Grace Patterson / @jujuliagrace : 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.substack.com/... Zane Simon / @thezanesimon : 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/... Dan Rather / @danrather : 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/ Justin Amash / @justinamash : 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. https://twitter.com/... Howard Lindzon / @howardlindzon : 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. Steve Kirsch / @stkirsch : 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?!?! Alex Reimer / @alexreimer1 : 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. Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias : It's definitely seeming like I should start shifting my time-wasting hobby over to the new @substackinc Notes feature https://substack.com/... @substackinc : 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 : 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 : 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 : 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://twitter.com/... Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier : 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 : reaping, sowing, etc https://twitter.com/... Lulu Cheng Meservey / @lulumeservey : 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://twitter.com/... Ryan Mac / @rmac18 : kinda wild this tweet is one year old https://twitter.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
This dispute sits within a broader pattern of Twitter using product controls to shape how outside publishing travels on its network. The same coverage cycle included warning labels on Substack links, while later changes reduced anonymous web access and article-link presentation.
It matters because Substack depends on social distribution and Twitter embeds/authentication had stopped working on Substack. The episode makes the dependence of writer platforms on a rival platform's technical and moderation choices unusually visible.
First-order effects
- Tweets containing Substack links lose key engagement paths—likes, replies, and retweets—immediately reducing their ability to circulate on Twitter.
- Substack and its writers face disrupted embeds and authentication, while Twitter users encounter more friction sharing or interacting with Substack material.
Second-order effects
- Writers and publishers that use Substack have reason to diversify distribution rather than treat Twitter as a dependable referral channel.
- The restriction gives Substack a clearer incentive to strengthen direct audience relationships and publishing features that do not rely on Twitter integrations.
Third-order effects
- If major social platforms continue to selectively constrain outbound links, publisher distribution will become more fragmented and direct subscriber relationships will carry greater strategic value.
- The pattern raises a durable governance question: platform owners can affect press distribution through product design as well as stated speech policies, even when the formal content remains online.
The trend: This is one data point in the shift from open social referral toward platform-controlled distribution, where publishers must treat third-party reach as conditional rather than guaranteed.