On the afternoon of March 27, major social platforms Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) experienced widespread service disruptions, leaving tens of thousands of users unable to access core features. According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, Reddit faced the brunt of the issues, with over 32,000 user reports of connectivity problems, slow page loading, or error messages like "This page isn’t working right now." X also saw around 16,000 complaints, ranging from delayed content updates to Cloudflare errors on its web version.
Reddit users encountered server connection failures and blank pages, with some receiving red warning bars stating, "CDN unable to connect to server." On X, glitches included unresponsive "Following" feeds and intermittent functionality. Frustrated users flocked to unaffected platforms to vent, with many describing the outages as "internet chaos" and expressing anxiety over reliance on these services.
Reddit acknowledged the issue on X, stating it had "implemented fixes" and was monitoring the situation but provided no specifics on the root cause. X did not immediately respond to media inquiries. The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of X’s security after CEO Elon Musk blamed a March 10 outage on "massive attacks from Ukrainian IP addresses"—a claim cybersecurity experts dismissed as technically flawed.
Thursday’s disruptions mark the latest in a series of outages for Reddit, which has struggled with server overloads and CDN failures in recent months. Meanwhile, X’s post-acquisition restructuring—including deep layoffs—has left some experts questioning its resilience. Cybersecurity analysts noted potential culprits could include DDoS attacks, software bugs, or server maintenance, though evidence remains inconclusive.
Some users speculated Reddit’s outage might stem from routine maintenance, while X’s recurring issues fueled broader distrust in its stability. Analysts warned that platforms’ reliance on third-party services like CDNs amplifies risks of cascading failures. However, Downdetector’s data, based on self-reported user complaints, may not fully reflect the true scale of the disruptions.
As of publication, services had partially restored, but the incident underscores growing vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure. With users increasingly dependent on social platforms for communication and commerce, the outages reignited calls for robust contingency planning and transparency from tech giants.
