Matt Taibbi, one of the independent journalists handpicked by Elon Musk to research and report the “Twitter Files,” on Friday said he was leaving the social media platform, “I guess,” after being caught in the middle of its feud with Substack.
The recent introduction of Substack Notes – a short-form blogging platform – apparently ruffled feathers at Twitter, which now considers Substack a “hostile rival,” Taibbi wrote in an email to his subscribers, according to Mediaite.
Twitter has similarly blocked would-be rivals like Mastodon from sharing live links on the platform. But Substack is the home of hundreds of influential writers who need platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share it beyond their subscription bases.
Taibbi said in a Substack chat that Twitter is now “unusable” for him, and that Musk did not respond to his questions about the move, Mashable’s Matt Binder reported. Taibbi wrote Friday on Substack under the heading “The Craziest Friday Ever … On staying at Substack, and leaving Twitter, I guess.”
“Earlier this afternoon, I learned Substack links were being blocked on Twitter. Since being able to share my articles is a primary reason I use Twitter, I was alarmed and asked what was going on,” he wrote.
“It turns out Twitter is upset about the new Substack Notes feature, which they see as a hostile rival. When I asked how I was supposed to market my work, I was given the option of posting my articles on Twitter instead of Substack.”
Taibbi wrote Friday on his Substack “Racket“:
“Not much suspense there; I’m staying at Substack. You’ve all been great to me, as has the management of this company. Beginning early next week I’ll be using the new Substack Notes feature (to which you’ll all have access) instead of Twitter, a decision that apparently will come with a price as far as any future Twitter Files reports are concerned. It was absolutely worth it and I’ll always be grateful to those who gave me the chance to work on that story, but man is this a crazy planet.”
