Tsu, a competing social network with about 4.5 million users, launched in 2014 with a new view of social media in mind. For instance, if a user posted content — like a picture or video — and included links to their other social media accounts, that post has now vanished if one of those profiles was on Tsu 
 
 Facebook This is the message Facebook users get if they try to post links to Tsu. Facebook also blocks new posts that merely contain the text "tsu.co" but no links, warns users that links to Tsu are "unsafe" and fails to deliver Instagram posts and texts via Facebook Messenger that mention Tsu's Internet address or link to the site. Tsu says Facebook just doesn't want its users to realize that their photos, videos and personal observations might actually be worth something. Facebook says that Tsu pays its users to post links on other sites, an incentive that breaks its rules for connecting with its social network. "We do not allow developers to incentivize content sharing on our platform because it encourages spammy sharing and creates a bad experience for people on Facebook," said Facebook spokesperson Melanie Ensign. "You can post PornHub links on Facebook, but not tsu.co," Tsu founder Sebastian Sobczak told the Daily News. Tsu users get paid when other people view ads associated with content they created. That revenue-sharing setup is similar to financial models used by major digital services such as Google's YouTube; Facebook users widely share YouTube links with one another. "It feels like we are being singled out and they are trying to stop a competitor with a more efficient business model," Sobczak says. "I don't think they are afraid of Tsu as much as they are of anything that lets people know their content has value," says Everest, who lives in Stoke on Trent in England. Hinkle had built a Facebook following of nearly 5,000 people, but felt as if his posts weren't reaching as many people over time. Tsu said it had been receiving a decent amount of traffic from Facebook, averaging more than 2,534 visits a day. It may seem like Facebook is just trying to stamp out competing platforms, but the social media giant says that's not the case. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/michael-liedtke
– The social media platform Tsu.co has garnered more than 4 million users since its 2013 inception, but Facebook would have you believe it simply doesn't exist. Since late September, Facebook has blocked (and retroactively deleted 10 million) mentions of and links to Tsu.co from any of its platforms, including Instagram and Messenger, reports the New York Daily News. "You can post PornHub links on Facebook, but not Tsu.co," Tsu founder Sebastian Sobczak says. And while he claims that the reason for the block is having a model that is "dangerous to them," Facebook rep Melanie Ensign says it all boils down to user experience: "We do not allow developers to incentivize content sharing on our platform because it encourages spammy sharing and creates a bad experience for people on Facebook." While Facebook keeps all profits from ad revenue, Tsu keeps just 10%; the remaining 90% is shared between users who've created content and the chain of friends who invited said user. CNNMoney has spoken to a dozen Tsu.co users, most of them artists and models who have yet to make any money on the site, but they overwhelmingly agree that Facebook's block is unfair. "I don't believe that Facebook and Instagram want Tsu to go viral," one user from Colombia says. "It would cost them a lot of money." After posting a link to a Tsu.co video on Facebook, for instance, 50 Cent had his mention removed as well, reports the AP. Facebook, meanwhile, says it will lift the block if Tsu no longer allows its users to post simultaneously to Tsu and Facebook. For now, mention Tsu.co and you'll likely be met with this error: "The content you're trying to share includes a link that our security systems detected to be unsafe." (This model recently quit social media altogether.)