I wonder if showing tweets by people who I don't follow but who are followed by my "friends" is a way to control social connections in the manner of Chinese social credit? B/c if I follow somebody "improper," showing it to my friends in their feed could impact my follow choices?
You are right, of course. And yet, the whole idea of "following" somebody on this particular wretched platform is that in your feed, you see those whom you follow. And if you don't follow, you don't see, unless it's an ad. And now it's changed!