An unexpected outage on social media platforms X and Reddit has left tens of thousands of users frustrated as the workweek begins. Downdetector reported an overwhelming number of complaints, particularly from major cities across the United States, indicating a significant disruption in service.
Outage Strikes Major US Cities
According to Downdetector, complaints about X surged to an astonishing 35,659 at 9:59 AM EDT, a stark increase from just 37 complaints recorded half an hour earlier. The outage was felt predominantly in major metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami.
Of those reporting issues, 45% indicated that the app was down, while 30% experienced problems accessing their feed or timeline, and 15% had a general issue with the app itself. Users actively shared their experiences, turning Downdetector’s X comment page into a community hub for discussion amidst the downtime.
Downtime Turns Comment Section into a Gathering Spot
As late as 11:30 AM EDT, users continued to voice frustrations regarding the outage. With X experiencing issues, many users flocked to Downdetector, utilizing the comment section as a makeshift social media platform to exchange thoughts about the ongoing problems.
A snapshot of the user's grievances regarding the outage on Monday morning. | Image by Downdetector
Reddit Users Also Experience Outage
In addition to X, Reddit also faced similar outages. Complaints rose sharply from 10 at 5:25 AM EDT to 3,185 by 9:55 AM EDT. Of those reporting issues, 73% of users encountered problems with the Reddit app, while 10% faced server connection issues and another 10% were unable to access the website.
Cloudflare's Response to the Outage
Cloudflare, the infrastructure and security service provider for many social media networks, acknowledged a fiber cut as the likely cause of the outages. By 12:30 PM EDT, they reported that they had mitigated most congestion and packet drop issues. However, intermittent problems were still being experienced across North America.
Elon Musk and the Evolution of X
Elon Musk, the principal shareholder of X, acquired what was previously known as Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion. In July 2023, Musk rebranded the platform as X, ushering a new era for the social media giant.
