Twitter users on both mobile and web found themselves unable to interact with tweets containing links to Substack pages on April 7.
When many users try to like, retweet, or reply to posts that contain Substack links, they receive an error message that says "Twitter has disabled some actions on this tweet." In some cases, users report that the UI appears to be recording their likes or retweets, but upon inspection, it does not appear to be counting or displaying interactions.
It is not clear at this time if the issue is a bug or an intended feature. Twitter appears to have cut off the ability for Substack users to embed tweets in their posts as of April 6, but by The Verge, a Substack spokesperson, did not clarify whether they believed the issue involved a Twitter API change or a bug. However, the inability of Twitter users to interact with tweets containing Substack links appears to have started around the same time, indicating that the two issues are related.
We are 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.
โ Substack (@SubstackInc) April 6, 2023
The issue comes on the heels of several recent mysterious changes to Twitter, including several days where the platform featured an image of Doge instead of the bird logo of Twitter and the non-profit media organization National Public Radio (NPR) reception a "state media" label.
It is also worth mentioning that Substack Announced 'Notes,' a Twitter-like posting app that could be seen as competition for the bird app, on April 5.
Substack is often seen as a place for expert-level bloggers to share their thoughts with like-minded communities, something the crypto community has taken advantage of to a relatively large degree.
There is uncountable Cryptocurrency, blockchain and Web3 related blogs on Substack with millions of subscribed readers. As one Twitter user pointed out, blocking interaction with posts by these authors featuring their work could have a chilling effect on free speech:
Elon Musk has blocked all Substack links on Twitter from being RTs or Likes.
This gives a huge advantage to MSM which according to him is bad, but okay.
I canceled my blue Twitter account, and it probably won't be on this godforsaken platform for much longer. Follow me on Substack (link below)
โ Erik Hoel (@erikphoel) April 7, 2023
Cointelegraph reached out to Twitter for comment and received a poop emoji in response. We've also reached out to Substack for comment, but didn't immediately hear back.
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