X users are unable to post “Signal.me” links
Alleged censorship and hypocrisy on “free speech”
- Many see the Signal.me block as another instance of X censoring content it dislikes while still branding itself as a “free speech” platform.
- Past examples cited: temporary bans or throttling of Mastodon/Substack links, bans on terms like “cisgender,” and arbitrary suspensions (e.g., journalists over “doxxing” Musk’s jet).
- Several commenters argue that X now promotes one political “sect” and that “free speech” there effectively means “speech Musk likes.”
Mistake vs deliberate anti‑competition
- Some propose a mundane explanation: an automated spam/malware system over‑blocking.
- Signal.me links put all meaningful data after
#. Systems that ignore the fragment may see all such links as the same URL and flag the entire domain. - Evidence:
https://signal.me/#…appears blocked, buthttps://signal.me/anything#…orhttps://signal.me/asdfcan work; other Signal domains (signal.org, signal.group) are not blocked.
- Signal.me links put all meaningful data after
- Others reject “honest mistake,” citing a pattern of similar “mistakes” always harming competitors or critics, and note that even if accidental, failure to quickly correct shows negligence tantamount to intent.
Free speech vs platform control
- Long debate over what “free speech” means:
- Legal view: the First Amendment restrains government, not private platforms; X is within its legal rights.
- Normative view: once you market yourself as a “free speech absolutist” and as a quasi‑public square, selective link bans and opaque moderation are hypocritical.
- Disagreement over whether hate speech, calls for genocide, or harassment should remain visible but socially punished, or be deplatformed outright (paradox of tolerance).
- Several emphasize that no one is entitled to an audience or to use a private platform, but that X’s rhetoric versus practice deserves scrutiny.
Twitter then vs X now
- Some say pre‑Musk Twitter already censored heavily (e.g., trans‑rights disputes, gender‑critical feminism) and Musk expanded permissible speech in those areas.
- Others argue Twitter was once a crucial tool for uprisings and real‑time news (Arab Spring, African contexts) and is now primarily a vehicle for extremism, propaganda, and “Nazi‑adjacent” content.
Alternatives and broader context
- Suggestions to move to Bluesky, Mastodon, or quit social media entirely; pushback notes network effects and that many important voices still post only on X.
- Comparisons drawn to Instagram blocking Telegram, EU vs US views on speech, and worries about “surveillance capitalism” turning platforms from surveillance to active opinion‑shaping at scale.