Just as the digital world was settling into its morning scroll, a wave of frustration rippled across the globe. Elon Musk’s X platform, the social media giant formerly known as Twitter, suddenly went dark, leaving thousands of users staring at frozen feeds and blank screens.
Panic, confusion, and memes erupted online as users struggled to access their favorite corners of the platform.
According to Downdetector, over 41,000 users in the U.S. reported issues by 10:35 a.m. ET, while thousands more across the U.K., Canada, and India faced similar disruptions.
The outage affected both the X app and website, with sections like "For You" and "Following" failing to update or show new posts. Earlier this week, the platform experienced a similar outage, peaking at more than 28,300 reported issues in the U.S. and over 8,000 in the U.K.
X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The actual number of affected users may differ, as Downdetector relies on user-submitted reports.
Adding to the platform’s challenges, X has also restricted its AI image-generation feature, Grok, to paying subscribers only. The tool had drawn international criticism for enabling users to create sexualized or inappropriate images of women, children, and public figures without consent.
Previously, Grok was available to all users with daily limits, allowing anyone to modify or generate images. X has clarified that violations of platform rules through Grok will now be treated with the same severity as illegal content.
However, the standalone Grok app remains unaffected by the new restrictions. Elon Musk and X emphasized their commitment to preventing misuse and ensuring responsible AI practices.
The outage and AI controversy highlight the growing pains of a platform that has rapidly evolved into a global social media hub, while grappling with new technological and ethical challenges.
