I anticipated Twitter would inevitably head for the defensive! The significant gap of 100 million downloads of the Threads app was simply too substantial for Elon Musk to overlook!
According to a recent report by The Verge, attempting to search for Threads content on Twitter currently yields zero results, despite the presence of multiple links to Meta’s recently launched microblogging competitor being shared on the platform.
A Threads user, @waxpancake, reported at exactly 01:47 (WAT) yesterday that Twitter was selectively blocking searches for tweets containing links to Threads, while still allowing the posting of Threads URLs.
Now, when you compose a tweet and add links to Threads content, I should be able to find your tweet when searching on Twitter. Unfortunately, Elon Musk’s social media platform appears to be limiting results for such tweets.
This recent behavior has also been widely reported by Twitter users, despite Musk’s belief that Twitter should be a platform that allows and encourages free speech.
The report further notes that the “url:” search operator returns the same result of “No results for url;threads.net.” I tested it myself, and the top searches presented profiles of Twitter users who had “thread.net” as part of their profile names.
Similarly, a search for “threads.net” without using the “url:” operator yields numerous unrelated results from users who have mentioned Threads in their display names or discussed the service without providing direct links to Threads posts. However, it does not display any linked Threads posts.
Elon Musk has not said anything in relation to this, aside from proposing an unconventional new contest with Mark Zuckerberg. It is apparent that the billionaire CEO of Tesla is uneasy about the significant growth that the Threads App has experienced since its launch.
Nevertheless, Elon Musk has assured individuals of free speech on the platform, attracting many users to subscribe to Twitter Blue. If this is an intentional move, it would mark the second time since the billionaire acquired and assumed leadership of Twitter.
In April of this year, Adam Bienkov, a political journalist, accused Musk of blocking retweets, likes, and replies to Tweets containing Substack links. Bienkov alleged that Musk’s decision followed the anticipated launch of a new Substack feature enabling users to share short-form updates with their subscribers, which subsequently hindered “independent journalists from earning a living.”
If you’re interested in discovering a way to outmaneuver Musk in this new landscape, Derek (@kepner) shared a “Clever workaround” for Twitter’s algorithm to search for thread content. Refer to the accompanying screenshots below.
These intelligent techniques, exemplified by Derek’s approach, contribute to the promotion of ethical behavior on the Internet and the discouragement of cyberbullying.
