--- title: "Twitter Now Throttling Traffic to Sites Elon Musk Doesn’t Like" description: "X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is making it more difficult to access content via external links by literally slowing them down." date: "2023-08-16" modified: "2023-08-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/x-twitter-throttling-traffic-sites-elon-musk-doesnt-like" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Twitter Now Throttling Traffic to Sites Elon Musk Doesn’t Like ![X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is making it more difficult to access content via external links by literally slowing them down.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## X-ed Out Twitter — sorry, uh, X — owner Elon Musk is making it more difficult to access content via external links on the social media platform by literally slowing the speed with which users get redirected. The sites that are affected are unsurprisingly X's competitors and reputable news sources that Musk has a personal bone to pick with, including the *New York Times*, *Reuters*, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Substack, the [*Washington Post* reports](). It's exactly the kind of move you'd expect from Musk, further pulling the platform away from being a useful — albeit flawed — place to access the news. It's especially concerning considering that Musk's [many changes]() [to the platform]() have turned it into a reliable source on the internet for [disinformation and propaganda]() — nevermind comically undermining his big talk about free speech. ## Slow Lane As a result of this latest change, anybody who clicks a link to any of these sites on X will have to wait an additional five seconds. While that doesn't sound egregious on the face of it, it certainly doesn't encourage users to access actually-reliable news sources. "Delays are annoying enough, even subconsciously, to drive people away," Twitter's former head of safety Yoel Roth [posted on Bluesky](). Musk has history with the targeted sites, accusing them of being critical of him and his businesses. In April, he [accused]() the *NYT* of being "hypocritical" and publishing a stream of "diarrhea," after the newspaper refused to pay for verification on the platform. The mercurial CEO also [lashed out]() at the newspaper earlier this month over a report about the far-right backlash to an old South African anti-apartheid song. Then there's Musk's [painstakingly]() [documented]() [beef]() with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who he's long had an antagonistic relationship with — to say the very least. For instance, earlier this week, Musk [threatened to show up at his doorstep]() in Palo Alto — despite knowing he wasn't home — to challenge him to a fight in his backyard. Long story short, his decision to punish reputable news sources and competitors shouldn't surprise anybody. Ever since Musk took over the platform last year, the damage to the site has been palpable. **More on X:** [*Twitter* Now Paying Accused Sex Trafficker to Keep Posting]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()