> we will remove any free promotion of prohibited 3rd-party social media platforms, such as linking out (i.e. using URLs) to any of the below platforms on Twitter
Your quote is referring to cross-posting from other sites to Twitter, not linking.
Still, the way this is drafted I don't interpret it as banning every single type of links but rather promotion of your profile of your content on another platform. It's not as explicit to me as you suggest.
Given that pg's Twitter profile's just been banned for indirectly referencing his Mastodon profile link on his own website, your assertions lack any credibility or plausibility whatsoever.
> we will remove any free promotion of prohibited 3rd-party social media platforms, such as linking out (i.e. using URLs) to any of the below platforms on Twitter
Your quote is referring to cross-posting from other sites to Twitter, not linking.