Twitter users reported widespread outages on the platform late Wednesday, with many noting troubles accessing the site, although the issue appeared to be intermittent.
Netizens have been posting screenshots of them trying to access the site, only to be denied.
Twitter Issues
© Screenshot / Twitter
For most users, the issue only lasts a few minutes before the site returns to normal, at least for a short time. Still, the matter has caused headaches for users and #TwitterDown is currently trending on the social media site with over 13,000 tweets, and counting, featuring the hashtag at press time.
Other users have reported issues posting tweets. Twitter’s official account, Twitter Support, has not yet commented the tech setback; however, Twitter CEO Elon Musk did comment that the platform "works for me."
According to Downdectector, the problems started around 7 p.m. EST, with thousands of reports being submitted to the website. Reports of issues are continuing to be submitted at press time.
The issue seems to be primarily affecting the website, with multiple users mentioning that the app and TweetDeck continue to function properly for them. Eighty-two percent of the Downdetector.com reports come from the website, while only 10% mention the app and 8% cite “Server Connection” as the issue.
Multiple Twitter users have commented on the fact that Musk fired large portions of Twitter’s technical staff after he purchased the social media website.
According to reports, some who were fired were asked to come back days later when it became apparent that their skills were needed to build new Twitter features Musk wanted to implement.
While it may not be related, it is worth noting that on Christmas Eve, Musk tweeted he was messing with Twitter’s infrastructure, bragging that the site continued to work even after he had unplugged “one of the more sensitive server racks.”
If he has not already, Musk may want to consider plugging it back in.