Twitter Throttling Links to Facebook, Threads, and More

Twitter has reportedly begun throttling traffic to a number of websites and competing social networks. The company is using its long-standing t.co link shortener to slow down links to Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Substack, the New York Times, and more.

The common theme among all of the affected websites and services is that they are ones for which Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and potential future owner of Twitter, has a strong and vocal disdain. Musk has been critical of Twitter's moderation policies, which he believes are too restrictive. He has also expressed support for platforms that allow for more free speech, such as Substack and Minds.

The throttling of links to these websites is likely seen by Musk as a way to reduce the visibility of his critics and competitors. It is also a way to discourage users from sharing links to these websites on Twitter.

The throttling is not immediately obvious to users. When you click on a link to one of the affected websites, there is a noticeable five-second delay before the actual website's URL starts to load. This delay is caused by Twitter's t.co link shortener, which is used to process all links posted to Twitter.

It is unclear how long Twitter will continue to throttle links to these websites. The company has not yet commented on the matter.

In the meantime, users who want to share links to these websites on Twitter can do so by copying and pasting the full URL into their tweets. This will bypass the t.co link shortener and prevent the throttling from taking effect.

Here are some additional steps that users can take to link a Twitter thread to Facebook:

1. Find the tweet that you want to share.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner of the tweet.
3. Select "Copy Link to Tweet."
4. Paste the copied link into a new Facebook post.
5. Click on "Post."

This will create a new Facebook post that includes the Twitter thread. The post will also include a link that will allow users to view the Twitter thread on Twitter.

It is important to note that Twitter may still throttle the traffic to the Twitter thread on Facebook. However, this will not prevent users from viewing the thread.