Published 17:26 IST, July 4th 2019
CIA breaks its silence on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp going down worldwide
The world became restless on Wednesday after Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook users across the globe complained of problems accessing and using the social media platforms.
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The world became restless on Wednesday after Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook users across the globe complained of problems accessing and using the social media platforms. Surprising just about everybody and thrilling them just as much, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) responded to the issue.
The pan-world outrage emerged after the apps which are owned by social media giant Facebook suddenly stopped working. With no platform to express their angst over the meltdown, Netizens took to Twitter which soon became a battleground for emotions and anger over the disruption of services. Being the last resort for taking out their frustration on, Twitteratti started using the hashtags #InstagramDown and #FacebookDown which soon found a place in the trends list.
A tweet from the CIA provided some humour and salvation. The agency's tweet indicated that they too suffered from the mishap. In addition, they also denied being the ones responsible for the problem and said that they can't find a way to fix it either. Here's what Uncle Sam's prime agency tweeted:
The CIA, which joined, Instagram earlier this year in April also used the hashtag #InstagramDown. Trying to come up with an obvious solution, they also suggested users to try turning the apps off and back on again:
"Did you try turning it off and back on again?" they wrote
Ever since the agency's tweet surfaced, it has gone viral with over 23,000 likes and more than 6,500 retweets. In addition, waves of reactions from fellow Netizens followed as they started giving meme and GIF references to their tweet. Not everything brought the CIA's claim that they were not involved:
People also started referring to the CIA's 'turn it off and back on again' suggestion:
Here's another one:
It went on as people were surprised at CIA's humorous stance during the breakdown of these apps:
However, Facebook updated and said that it was "back at 100 percent" on Wednesday evening. A company spokesperson, who also spoke on behalf of Instagram and WhatsApp, explained that a "routine maintenance operation" accidentally triggered a bug that made it difficult for users to upload or send photos and videos.
13:29 IST, July 4th 2019