X accused of delaying access to links from social media rivals

Social media channel X has been accused of intentionally delaying access to links from Reuters and The New York Times, as well as its competitors including Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. 

That's according to a recent report from The Washington Post on Tuesday, which sparked concerns about potential content manipulation.

Upon clicking a link on X leading to the aforementioned websites, users were confronted with an approximate five-second delay before the webpages loaded.

Similar trials conducted by Reuters substantiated the existence of this delay.

However, by late Tuesday afternoon, X appeared to have resolved the delay issue. While acknowledging the removal of the delay, X refrained from offering any further details on the matter.

Elon Musk, the billionaire who acquired Twitter in October, has previously expressed strong disapproval towards news organisations and journalists critiquing his ventures, which encompass Tesla and SpaceX. It's noteworthy that Twitter has previously imposed restrictions on users sharing links to competing social media platforms. 

Earlier on Tuesday, a user on the tech-focused forum Hacker News disclosed that X had commenced delaying links to The New York Times from August 4. This revelation coincided with Musk's condemnation of the publication's portrayal of South Africa, accusing it of advocating for genocide. The New York Times revealed they haven't received any clarification from X regarding the link delay.

In response to these allegations, a spokesperson from The New York Times conveyed, "Though the motive behind implementing this delay remains unclear, we express apprehension over potential selective influence exerted on any news organisation without transparent motives."

This statement was made on Tuesday, highlighting the news organisation's concerns regarding any potential manipulation of information dissemination.

Similarly, a spokesperson from Reuters commented, "We have noted The Washington Post's report on the delay experienced while opening links to Reuters articles on X. We are actively investigating the matter."