Twitter Delays Access to Links on Reuters and New York Times Websites
The Washington Post reported that social network X, formerly Twitter, had delayed access to links to content on the Reuters and New York Times websites, as well as on competing platforms such as Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.
The Washington Post, following tests conducted on Tuesday, indicated that clicking on one of the links to vulnerable sites resulted in a delay of about 5 seconds before loading the site’s page. Reuters also noted a similar delay during their tests.
By Tuesday evening, X appeared to have ended the delay. When contacted for comment, the company confirmed that the delay had been lifted, without elaborating.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in October and turned it into “X”, has previously criticized news organizations and journalists who have published reports critical of his companies such as Tesla and SpaceX. Twitter has previously banned users from posting links to competing social media platforms.
Reuters was unable to determine the exact time when X began to delay access to links to some websites.
A user on the HackerNews tech forum posted about the delay in the early hours of Tuesday, stating that X began delaying opening New York Times links on August 4th.
On that day, Musk criticized a newspaper article about South Africa, accusing it of supporting calls for genocide. Reuters has no evidence that the two incidents are related.
Concerns Raised by News Organizations
A spokesperson for the New York Times said the paper has received no explanation from Platform X for the delay in accessing its links.
“While we do not know the reasons for this delay, we are concerned that any news organization is being pressured for unclear reasons,” the spokesperson added.
A Reuters spokesperson commented: “We are aware of the Washington Post report of a delay in opening links to Reuters topics on platform X and we are looking into the matter.”
This Article Social Network X Delays Access to Links on Reuters and New York Times Websites: Washington Post Report was first Published on World Weekly News
