On Friday, Twitter users noticed difficulties with liking or retweeting tweets that contain links to Substack, a newsletter platform.
Following Substack’s announcement that it would include “Notes,” a feature that closely resembles Twitter, Twitter has restricted how users can engage with tweets that contain the Substack links.
When users attempt to retweet or like a post on Twitter’s desktop version, they receive the notice “Some actions on this Tweet have been disabled by Twitter.” The social media platform’s mobile version did not support likes or retweets.
According to a source, Twitter appears to have also restricted replies to tweets containing Substack URLs.
“We’re disappointed that Twitter has chosen to restrict writers’ ability to share their work”: Substack
“It appeared, however, that tweets with links to Substack newsletters with a unique domain name or shortened links did function normally on Twitter.”
“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, 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,” said Substack founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Seth in a statement to The Verge.
The three stated that Substack Notes will “drive discovery across Substack” and give users a way to upload “short-form content and share ideas with each other and their readers.”
Unlike its recommendations feature, “Notes will give them the ability to recommend almost anything—including posts, quotes, comments, images, and links,” the trio said.
The post later added, “While Notes may look like familiar social media feeds, the key difference is in what you don’t see. The Substack network runs on paid subscriptions, not ads. This changes everything.”