Facebook suffers a two-hour glitch

Facebook suffered a high-profile glitch on Wednesday that lasted for about two hours. Facebook’s new rebrand logo, Meta. File photo: Dado Ruvic Reuters

Facebook suffered a high-profile glitch on Wednesday that lasted for about two hours. Facebook’s new rebrand logo, Meta. File photo: Dado Ruvic Reuters

Published Aug 25, 2022

Share

A Facebook glitch on Wednesday prompted posts to celebrity fan pages and groups to jump to the top of timelines.

The site suffered a glitch that lasted for about two hours, and Meta – Facebook’s parent company – subsequently apologised for “any inconvenience” that it caused.

A spokesperson told the BBC: “A configuration change caused some people to have trouble with their Facebook feed. We resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted.”

The glitch prompted some Facebook users to mock the social networking platform using various memes that quickly circulated across the internet.

Last year, meanwhile, Facebook was accused of using bullying tactics in Australia.

The social network company announced plans to ban all Australian news content from its platform amid a row with the government, but British MP Julian Knight – who chaired the Commons media select committee – accused the company of acting like a bully.

He said: “This is a crass move.

“I don’t think they are being a good citizen, not just in Australia, but elsewhere (too).

“To pull the plug overnight represents the worst type of corporate culture.”

Steve Evans, a reporter for the “Canberra Times” newspaper, also slammed the tech giant for its handling of the issue.

He said: “They botched it, there's absolutely no doubt about that.

“Not only did they block media organisations, but they blocked government health websites. So access to up-to-the-minute information about Covid-19, for example, was suddenly not available on Facebook.”

Following the criticism, Facebook announced that it was reversing its ban on news content in Australia.

BANG ShowBiz Tech