Chris News@on #OwnyourBrexitNov 12, 2022
Mike Galsworthy 🦣

Shocking. Musk’s Twitter has just blocked people trying to read/share a Byline Times article.

It’s never happened to Byline Times before. Reader suppression, if you will - on an article about voter suppression, ironically.

They even put up a warning when you try to retweet eg the viral post of this article by the Electoral Reform Society (verified for the RIGHT reason, not paid) that Byline Times may be a harmful website!

Article: https://bylinetimes.com/2022/11/07/voter-id-its-far-worse-than-any-us-state/

Voter ID: ‘It’s Far Worse than Any US State’ – Byline Times

Josiah Mortimer reports on fresh voter suppression claims facing the Government – including the impact on young people – ahead of a rushed roll-out of mandatory voter ID for next May's local elections

Byline Times
Nov 12, 2022 at 1:29pmWeb
Show threadMike Galsworthy 🦣Nov 12, 2022
Looks like you’re warned off even liking the tweet on voter suppression! Nice one “Free Speech” Twitter.
Show threadElke Koessling-WinzerNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Good grief.
Show threadMilko G. 🇬🇧🇧🇬🇺🇦Nov 12, 2022
@Elkewinzer @mikegalsworthy problem is Twitter a substantial traffic generator. This is directly hurting @bylinetimes
Show threadLadyFluffyOrcaNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy that should come up when you Google Twitter
Show threadJay of the IceniNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy free speech basically means that Elon is free to determine what you should say.

An ironic subversion of what the rest of us think it means. But money is power, eh?

Show threadGunFheumNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy time to actually just mothball twitter accounts and let it rot
Show threadAndrew C.A. ElliottNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy
Wow, treating Byline Times as potentially dodgy?

That is scary stuff.

Show threadGillyhxNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
Blimey 😯
Show threadKepiloNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy 'Free speech'? When he fires staff who 'look at him in the wrong way' or for stopping & entering a lift when he's in it?

The man's a sociopathic maniac with the name of a James Bond villain! He neither knows anything about 'free speech' nor cares a f_ck about it.

Show threadCaitlin mka KatieNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
🐦 just felt like it had been washed with too much fabric softener when I just checked something *urrrg* *getting inner shaking*
Show threadPhilip JohnNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Incredible. Puts into perspective the calls from government for social media companies to do more to police content on their platforms, is this is the result.
Show threadPsych 🇪🇺🍄🌳🐸Nov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy The irony of the birdsite suggesting what is harmful!
Show threadKamado 🐲 ☑️Nov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy that’s very free speech of him!
Show threaddjhagueNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy shocking!
Show threadCrissdiamondNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy and if you click on the link, this is what twitter says.

Warning: this link may be unsafe
https://bylinetimes.com/2022/11/07/voter-id-its-far-worse-than-any-us-state/

The link you are trying to access has been identified by Twitter or our partners as being potentially spammy or unsafe, in accordance with Twitter’s URL Policy. This link could fall into any of the categories below:

malicious links that could steal personal…

Voter ID: ‘It’s Far Worse than Any US State’ – Byline Times

Josiah Mortimer reports on fresh voter suppression claims facing the Government – including the impact on young people – ahead of a rushed roll-out of mandatory voter ID for next May's local elections

Byline Times
Show threadAmisjaNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Twitter permenantly suspended me. I only ever tweeted 'hello' once.
Show threadʞuᴉԀ ✅Nov 12, 2022
@Amisja @mikegalsworthy Twitter once called an account I was setting up, for my business, a bot account and suspended it before I'd even finished the sign up process.
Show threadKevNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy absolute bullshit par-for-the-course savagery
Show threadmerely rhysNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy It's a weird circumstance when Musk is fine with links to Babylon Bee and the Santa Monica Observer but not Byline Times.
Show threadRichard FröhlichNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy The whole point of Musk's takeover of Twitter is to suppress views he disapproves of.
Musk is big on free speech but only the sort he approves of.
Show threadMartinNov 12, 2022
@richard_f @mikegalsworthy
Exactly. Wonder how it would go if a Twitter union account started up.
Show threadRaelynne79 (she/her) 🇪🇺🇬🇧🏳️‍🌈Nov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Twitter ceased to be safe for any legitimate business or news source the second Musk took ownership. We can only expect it to get worse from here.
Show threadJane FanghanelNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
Retweeted Electoral Reform post and got big waggy finger which I ignored. Also quote tweeted it without any warning.
Not a good look for free speech advocates #VoterIDs
Show threaddaveNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Yet another reason why I'm so eager to get as many people as possible over here while there's momentum. Fedi just works so much better. This wouldn't get blocked here, while on the other hand, I've never seen a crypto scam in my feed.
Show threadChris PittsNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Thanks for flagging. I use Tweetbot, so wasn’t aware of this. The app doesn’t show the warnings (not flagged? Ignored? 🤷‍♂️) as well as blocking the ads and ensuring the temporal timeline doesn’t get tampered with.
Show threadPaul ROBERTSONNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Well I've just tweeted it. We'll see how long it lasts.
Show threadDave HounslowNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy malicious or just a symptom of an organisation that has just layed off around half it's workforce?
Show threadAron Cody-BoutcherNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy WOW. Free speech absolutist... he is not.
Show threadDrCaz 🇪🇺🇬🇧Nov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy Cochrane (cochrane library, evidence-based medicine) is constantly getting this on Twitter when they mention ivermectin.

The algorithms must have been updated to include either byline times or voter ID?

Very dodgy algorithms over in that place.

Show threadSean BarnesNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy this is a worrying turn of events.
Show threadJames TarryNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy it’s not deliberate, they’re blocking all sorts of links to websites. It’s more because they’ve sacked half the staff.
Show threadJenny WhiteNov 12, 2022
@Northampton_Adviser @mikegalsworthy yes, I wondered about this too. Twitter entered now the self-destruction phase. More and more things won't work or won't be available anymore. Didn't he close the whole department that dealt with misinformation? I have a feeling this time next month Twitter is done.
Show threadJames TarryNov 13, 2022
@TheQueensMindset @mikegalsworthy doubt it’ll go that quickly. The banks are owed billions. More likely someone else with a bit more wit will take it over.
Show threadAngela, Lady FfosfelinNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy ..that’s disgusting. Can we share your post about it on the ‘birdshite’?
Show threadRosamundiNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy @JeniParsons there seems to be a widespread issue with external links. This is what I get when I try to visit my friend's perfectly safe and harmless small business website
Show threadʞuᴉԀ ✅Nov 12, 2022
@rosamundi @mikegalsworthy @JeniParsons My guess would be they've implemented some form of safe-list and so any site not on their list is being called spammy or unsafe, using a message that was actually intended for sites on an unsafe-list.
Show threadMiscfitNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy outrageous. I just tried it there and same for me.
Show threadDean Morrison #FBPENov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy I just tried reposting both of those on Twitter and didn't get a message? Possible they've fixed it/backtracked?
Show threademmatonkinNov 12, 2022

@DeanMorrison @mikegalsworthy I also saw that Mediaite had a similar problem posting an article entitled "What Elon Musk Is Doing Right On Twitter: Here's What's Going Right Under New Owner Elon Musk" which (spoiler warning) consisted of a one-word answer. They eventually removed the warning from that, too. Also, a Christmas card sales site had this problem.

Not sure if it's a result of an 'erratic' CEO or bits of the site failing, or maybe both.

Show threadMichael GrummittNov 13, 2022

@DeanMorrison @mikegalsworthy

I just tried opening the article on Twitter and got the same message.

Show threadPaul ROBERTSONNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy My tweet ow calls up this warning, although you can choose to ignore it and read the article.
Show threadLazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈Nov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy guess we know what a crock of sh:t Elon's 'citizen journalist' thing is.
Show threadWefailNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy This is happening with tons of small online shop links, too. It's crazy.
Show threadJust_DaveNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy I am testing a URL shortener so far still up : shorturl.at/sDPU0
Show threadColNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy WOW!
Show threadJan BennettNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy 😡😡😡
Show threadMiss Dee PresserNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy I’ve posted the link, no warning
Show threadLaizyDaizeyNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy I retweeted that myself this am. This really is the end, chilling that the Other Place has sunk to this 😨
Show threadAtul HariaNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
They appear to have removed all references to this article too.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428132/elon-musk-twitter-acquisition-problems-speech-moderation
Welcome to hell, Elon

Elon Musk now owns Twitter — and a huge number of impossible political problems around speech, content moderation, and trying to make money.

The Verge
Show threadMike Galsworthy 🦣Nov 12, 2022
@atulharia Interesting. Will look into that.
Show threadAtul HariaNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
OK - I did a search on twitter for the "Welcome to Hell, Elon" article - and I can see other tweets linking the article there. But my tweet linking the article has gone missing. So not sure what's happening.
Show threadSnugNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy It's probably paranoia, or coincidence, but the only time I've ever had my account messed with (locked for being a bot) was when I got into an argument with some tories.

I wonder if they abuse the reporting mechanisms.

Show threadQueen of TeacupsNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Similar things are happening with pro-Scottish independence tweets
Show threadLesley MuirNov 12, 2022
@JMacfie Yep the Talking Up Scotland Twitter account run by Prof. Robertson has similar warnings posted. Awful.
Show thread7obiNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy WTF!?
Show threadSean MacreavyNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy

Jesus... Will there be any left-leaning or fair-minded media left alive?

Show threadLaurieNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Byline Times could very well be considered harmful. Especially if you're allergic to truth and integrity.
Show threadchriszanfNov 12, 2022

@mikegalsworthy But how can that be? Mr Musk, saviour of the human race, explorer of the stars is a freeze peach absolutist...

/S if its needed!

Show threadDavid Colquhoun on BlueskyNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
Good grief. What on earth is Musk thinking about!
Show threadCazDoesPoliticsNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy That is so weird. Is it all Bylines posts, or just this one?