Twitter briefly bans linking to other social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Truth Social

Twitter logo at headquarters.
(Image credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Twitter announced Sunday that it will no longer allow users to directly post links to a number of rival social media websites. The new policy lasted less than a day.

In a now-deleted press release, the company said, "We know that many of our users may be active on other social media platforms; however, going forward, Twitter will no longer allow free promotion of specific social media platforms on Twitter." According to the release, this includes banning links to Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, Mastodon, Tribel, Post, and Nostr.

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The policy and tweets announcing it disappeared Sunday night. "Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes," Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted Sunday evening. "My apologies. Won't happen again."

The new policy appeared as some users on the platform have begun an exodus from Twitter in the wake of the company's takeover by Musk. In particular, many liberal users have been posting links to the websites Mastodon and Post, which have been cited as potential alternatives to Twitter.

While Truth Social is owned by former President Donald Trump, NBC News noted that Twitter did not extend the linking ban to other right-wing platforms such as Gab and Parler. In addition, TikTok, Reddit, Telegram, and other more prominent social media sites were not listed as part of the new policy.

Musk recently banned and eventually reinstated a number of journalists who cover Twitter.

UPDATE: This post was updated late Sunday to reflect Twitter's reversal of its linking policy.

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Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.