• by Colin Kirkland , July 12, 2023

Twitter is selectively blocking links to Meta’s Threads app on its platform. 

As Threads surpasses 100 million users, there have been multiple reports of the Elon Musk-owned app making it difficult for users to search for Threads conversations and profiles on Twitter. 

Twitter users are typically able to search for certain websites by adding “URL:” followed by the website they are seeking. For example, typing “URL: MediaPost” into the Twitter search bar, results for MediaPost will surface with links to the publication. 

No links appear when typing in “URL: Threads.”  

However, users have already located a way around the issue. To see who is on Threads via Twitter, users must type “url: ‘threads net’ filter:follows” into the search bar. From there, users will see which of the accounts they follow have moved to Meta’s new app. 

The situation is reminiscent of Twitter’s actions in April, when it began censoring links to subscription newsletter platform Substack’s discussion feature, Notes. Posts with Notes links became impossible to reply to, like, or retweet. 

It is not known whether the search issues are intentional, but taking into account Musk’s tweets involving Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it seems likely. 

Last Thursday, Musk tweeted “Competition is fine, cheating is not,” followed by a more direct tweet: “Zuck is a cuck.” The Twitter owner also threatened to sue Meta when Threads was released to the public, claiming that Threads copied Twitter and stole employees and trade secrets. 

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has been addressing the tech giant drama much more coyly, including tweeting about unspecified usage numbers.

“Don’t want to leave you hanging by a thread…but Twitter, you really outdid yourselves! Last week we had our largest usage day since February,” she tweeted. “There’s only ONE Twitter. You know. I know it.”