Update:
Taking to X for another update, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone attributed the major outage to a ‘technical issue’
Earlier today, a technical issue caused people to have difficulty accessing some of our services. We resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted, and we apologize for any inconvenience. https://t.co/ybyyAZNAMn
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) March 5, 2024
While some users are still complaining of issues logging on to Facebook and refreshing their feed on Instagram, the majority of users have managed to finally gain access to the social media platforms
Over 300 000 Facebook outages and nearly 50 000 Instagram outages were reported on Downdetector, with nearly 10 000 crash reports coming from South Africa, reported News24. A further 200 outages were reported for Meta-owned WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, according to posts seen by Reuters, several employees of Meta said on anonymous messaging app Blind that they had been unable to log in to their internal work systems, which left them wondering if they were laid off.
The massive outage quickly became top trending topics on X, with the platform’s owner Elon Musk taking a jab at Meta.
If you’re reading this post, it’s because our servers are working
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2024
Picture: Sara Kurfeß / Unsplash
Update:
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone has taken to X to confirm the massive glitch, saying ‘We’re aware people are having trouble accessing our services’.
Stone added that Meta is currently working on the problem.
We’re aware people are having trouble accessing our services. We are working on this now.
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) March 5, 2024
Meta-owned social media apps appear to have suffered a global outage on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of thousands unable to access their Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Messenger accounts.
Also read: There is life outside of social media – I promise!
The disruption allegedly began around 5pm this afternoon, with widespread reports of Facebook users being involuntarily logged out with no option to log back in and Instagram users not being able to refresh their feed, according to Downdetector, which monitors online outages all over the world.
Within half an hour of the issues first appearing on Downdetector, the number of reports had passed 90 000 for Facebook and 15 000 for Instagram.
The cause of the outage remains unconfirmed. Various media reports state that Meta has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, social media giant X continues to operate as normal with many flocking to the platform to vent their frustrations and to verify that they’re not the only users experiencing issues with Meta.
#FacebookDown and #InstagramDown quickly became trending topics on X.
Updates to follow.
Also read:
The internet’s hilarious reaction to Facebook’s outage will have you in stitches
Picture: dole777 / Unsplash