Coverage dated August 14, 2023 to August 15, 2023

Elon Musk’s X - formerly Twitter - is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes

Headline from Anchorage Daily News, from the development of Aug 15, 2023

Newest development Aug 16, 2023 · 3 reportsMusk's X Delays Access to Content on Reuters, NY Times, Social Media Rivals

The delayed websites include X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Substack as well as Reuters and The New York Times, all of which Musk previously has singled out for ridicule or attack.

Anchorage Daily News's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Earlier updates in this story

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

  1. Names this update

    Elon Musk’s X - formerly Twitter - is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes

    Headline from Anchorage Daily News ·

  2. Newest

    Musk's X Delays Access to Content on Reuters, NY Times, Social Media Rivals

    Headline from Voice of America ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

13 articles, oldest first.

  1. Forbes

    X Apparently Slowed Access To Sites Elon Musk Dislikes—Then Abruptly Backtracked (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Users had to wait five seconds before accessing certain websites like the New York Times or Threads via links on Twitter, the Washington Post found.

  2. Engadget

    X is slowing down links to websites Elon Musk has publicly feuded with (opens Engadget)

    Published

    Engadget's feed description

    he website formerly known as Twitter seems to be interfering with links to The New York Times, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Substack to make them load noticeably slower..

  3. Washington Examiner

    X throttles traffic to competitors and sites critical of Musk (opens Washington Examiner)

    Published

    Washington Examiner's feed description

    X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is delaying access to social media competitors and news sites that have earned the ire of its owner, Elon Musk.

  4. Washington Post

    Elon Musk’s X is throttling traffic to news and websites he dislikes (opens Washington Post)

    Published

    Washington Post's feed description

    The delayed websites include X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Substack as well as Reuters and the New York Times, all of which Musk previously has singled out for ridicule or attack.

  5. Variety

    Elon Musk’s X (Formerly Twitter) Is Imposing a 5-Second Delay on Links to Meta Apps, New York Times and Other Sites (opens Variety)

    Published

    Variety's feed description

    X, Elon Musk’s new name the social network formerly known as Twitter, appears to be adding a five-second delay to links that are redirected to certain sites, including the New York Times, Reu…

  6. Voice of America

    Musk's X Delays Access to Content on Reuters, NY Times, Social Media Rivals (opens Voice of America)

    Published

    Voice of America's feed description

    By late Tuesday afternoon, X appeared to have eliminated the delay

  7. Anchorage Daily News

    Elon Musk’s X - formerly Twitter - is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes (opens Anchorage Daily News)

    Published

    Anchorage Daily News's feed description

    The delayed websites include X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Substack as well as Reuters and The New York Times, all of which Musk previously has singled out for ridicule or attack.

  8. The Guardian

    Twitter appears to delay links by five seconds to sites Elon Musk dislikes (opens The Guardian)

    Published

    The Guardian's feed description

    When content posted from critical news outlets and competitor apps was clicked, it opened a blank screen, delaying access

  9. Hot Air

    Is Musk adding a delay to Twitter links for critical media outlets? (opens Hot Air)

    Published

    Hot Air's feed description

    Elon Musk’s social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has implemented timed delays on traffic to sites critical of its practices and its owner, a Washington Post investigation found....

  10. New Hampshire Union Leader

    Elon Musk's X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes (opens New Hampshire Union Leader)

    Published

    New Hampshire Union Leader's feed description

    The company formerly known as Twitter has been slowing the speed with which users could access links to the New York Times, Facebook and other news organizations and online competitors,

  11. Insider

    Elon Musk's X appears to have throttled access to websites he doesn't like, then removed the delay when people noticed (opens Insider)

    Published

    Insider's feed description

    Links to the New York Times and Reuters previously took around five seconds to load when Insider tested them, but X appeared to reverse this.

  12. ZDNet

    X (aka Twitter) was caught throttling competitors and news services (opens ZDNet)

    Published

    ZDNet's feed description

    Elon Musk had been targeting rival social networks and news sites he dislikes with a five-second delay.

  13. Poynter

    Elon Musk’s latest petty move targeted The New York Times and others (opens Poynter)

    Published

    Poynter's feed description

    Have you noticed a delay when clicking on links in tweets to the Times, Reuters, Substack, Facebook and others?

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