Musk’s X throttles links to news sites and social media rivals
Getting to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds
16 August 2023 - 14:05
bySheila Dang
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
X logo at the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in San Francisco, California, the US, July 30 2023. Picture: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
Dallas — Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, delayed access to links to content on the Reuters’ and New York Times’ websites as well as rivals Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram, according to a Washington Post report on Tuesday.
Clicking a link on X to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds before the webpage loaded, the Washington Post reported, citing tests it conducted on Tuesday. Reuters also saw a similar delay in tests it ran.
By late Tuesday afternoon, X appeared to have eliminated the delay. When contacted for comment, X confirmed the delay was removed but did not elaborate.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October, has previously lashed out at news organisations and journalists who have reported critically on his companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX. Twitter has previously prevented users from posting links to competing social media platforms.
Reuters could not establish the precise time when X began delaying links to some websites.
A user on Hacker News, a tech forum, posted about the delay earlier on Tuesday and wrote that X began delaying links to the New York Times on August 4. On that day, Musk criticised the publication’s coverage of SA and accused it of supporting calls for genocide. Reuters has no evidence that the two events are related.
A spokesperson for the New York Times said it has not received an explanation from X about the link delay.
“While we don’t know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organisation for unclear reasons,” the spokesperson said.
A Reuters spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report in the Washington Post of a delay in opening links to Reuters stories on X. We are looking into the matter.”
Bluesky, an X rival that has Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board, did not reply to a request for comment. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Musk’s X throttles links to news sites and social media rivals
Getting to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds
Dallas — Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, delayed access to links to content on the Reuters’ and New York Times’ websites as well as rivals Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram, according to a Washington Post report on Tuesday.
Clicking a link on X to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds before the webpage loaded, the Washington Post reported, citing tests it conducted on Tuesday. Reuters also saw a similar delay in tests it ran.
By late Tuesday afternoon, X appeared to have eliminated the delay. When contacted for comment, X confirmed the delay was removed but did not elaborate.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October, has previously lashed out at news organisations and journalists who have reported critically on his companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX. Twitter has previously prevented users from posting links to competing social media platforms.
Reuters could not establish the precise time when X began delaying links to some websites.
A user on Hacker News, a tech forum, posted about the delay earlier on Tuesday and wrote that X began delaying links to the New York Times on August 4. On that day, Musk criticised the publication’s coverage of SA and accused it of supporting calls for genocide. Reuters has no evidence that the two events are related.
A spokesperson for the New York Times said it has not received an explanation from X about the link delay.
“While we don’t know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organisation for unclear reasons,” the spokesperson said.
A Reuters spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report in the Washington Post of a delay in opening links to Reuters stories on X. We are looking into the matter.”
Bluesky, an X rival that has Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board, did not reply to a request for comment. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters
Julius Malema tells Elon Musk he is ‘talking sh**’ after genocide accusation
TOBY SHAPSHAK: What’s in the Twitter name, asks Elon Musk
Musk’s X sues nonprofit that fights hate speech
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Five things to watch this week
Devlin Brown at the watercooler: How to unlock the body you didn’t know you had
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Friday is a good day to raise a glass to our most ...
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.