‘X delayed links to Facebook, Bluesky, Reuters and The New York Times’

The former Twitter delayed links to some sites by about five seconds. Certain news media and competing social media therefore loaded slower. The sites are now loading as normal again.

X’ link reducer t.co slowed down the loading of certain sites by about five seconds, writes The Washington Post. This slowdown was consistent and only occurred on specific websites. It therefore appears to be a conscious action. Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Substack, Reuters and The New York Times, among others, were affected by the delay. It is not clear how long this delay was active; a Hacker News user says he first noticed this delay on August 4.

A few hours after publication of The Washington Post’s article, at least some of the delays have been reversed, the medium writes. It is not known whether all sites are now working as normal again. X did not respond to the incident. The Washington Post notes that X owner Elon Musk has been critical of the affected sites in the past. By slowing down the links, some clickers could drop out, causing a site to attract fewer visitors.