Users across the Internet on Tuesday reported being unable to access Facebook and Instagram, the popular social network platforms operated by Meta.
Some users floated unverified claims that a hack might be involved on the website DownDetector.
Context
Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular social networking apps worldwide, owned and operated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. Last year, Facebook surpassed 3 billion daily active users. Instagram, meanwhile, was estimated to have around 1.2 billion daily active users around the same time.
"Super Tuesday" is a term used for the day in each presidential election primary cycle in which numerous states and territories all hold their primary races at the same time, adding up to roughly one-third of the winnable delegates for each party. Given that the results of these races most often signal who will become the eventual nominee for each party, Super Tuesday is considered a pivotal part of the primary process.
What We Know
On Tuesday, thousands of Facebook and Instagram users took to other platforms, like X, to report that they were unable to access either platform, suggesting that a companywide outage was taking place. On the popular site DownDetector, reports of issues with Facebook soared to nearly 300,000 at around 10:30 a.m. ET, while reports for Instagram hit nearly 72,000 around the same time.
Newsweek reached out to the company via email for comment on Tuesday morning, and any responses received will be added to this story in an update.
Given the proximity of such a widespread outage on a day as politically important as Super Tuesday, numerous users on DownDetector and X floated the possibility of a hack, though it must be stressed that these assertions are completely without evidence at this time.
"I can't log in either. Even logging in here was a challenge," user Jason Luttrell wrote on DownDetector. "Given that it's Super Tuesday, a major US political event, I would assume it's due to hacking. Logging in via Disqus also appears to be offline."
"Down in Vietnam as well, I thought my account was hacked, so I used another app to send the message to warn all of my relatives," user Toan Sel wrote on DownDetector.
"Facebook and Instagram DOWN possibly nationwide," X user Chuck Callesto wrote. "Has CHINA taken the next step?"
"Was Facebook and Instagram hacked by a foreign nation?" X user Douglas MacGregor wrote, echoing the unfounded rumor. "Is all you [sic] information now in the hands of a foreign power?"
A comment from Meta communications official Andy Stone around noon on Tuesday countered these suggestions, pinning the outages on "a technical issue."
Views
Amid the frenzied conversation about the outage, journalist David Leavitt, echoing the hack theory, suggested that whoever was responsible did not want people "to see that Taylor Swift told you to go vote." Swift posted a message on Instagram urging fans to exercise their right to vote on Super Tuesday. The pop star's left-leaning political stances and influence with fans have led to considerable consternation from conservatives in recent months.
What Comes Next?
In a comment provided to Newsweek, a Meta spokesperson echoed Stone's post, stating that the outages were the result of a "technical issue."
"Earlier today, a technical issue caused people to have difficulty accessing some of our services," the spokesperson said. "We resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted, and we apologize for any inconvenience."
Update 03/05/2024, 7 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from a Meta spokesperson.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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