Following LinkedIn and Facebook, Reddit Faces Outage; Users Report Loading Problems

At approximately 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Reddit users found themselves unable to access the platform, with over 20,000 individuals reporting issues with the app. The outage, which is under investigation by Reddit, has led to intermittent problems and slow loading times for users across various countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada. However, the majority of complaints originated from users in the United States.

This incident marks the second outage Reddit has faced in a single day. Earlier, around 11 a.m. EST, users reported slow loading times and intermittent failures. Fortunately, the platform managed to address and resolve that issue within an hour.

DownDetector, a platform monitoring online outages, highlighted a significant number of complaints mainly from users in the United States, while only a fraction of reports came from Europe, with approximately 200-300 individuals encountering similar problems. 

Since February 22, Reddit has experienced an increased number of errors on its platform, with multiple incidents occurring within this timeframe. This latest outage is particularly noteworthy as it coincides with the platform's imminent plans to go public later this month.

The move aims to attract more advertisers, as Reddit relies solely on ad revenue for its income. Furthermore, the company is seeking a valuation of up to $6.5 billion, targeting a share price of $31 to $34, as reported by Business Insider.

This outage adds to a string of recent major outages experienced by various online platforms. Just two days prior, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger encountered crashes, followed by LinkedIn experiencing downtime less than 24 hours later.

With over 300,000 reports on Down Detector and a flood of complaints on X, it’s evident that the outage has had a substantial impact on Meta’s user base. AT&T also faced a significant outage on February 22, lasting roughly six hours and impacting millions of users' ability to make calls or send texts.

Amidst these outages, some Americans have raised concerns about the reliability of U.S. servers, especially as the country approaches the 2024 presidential election. Social media users speculated about potential connections between Meta's outage and AT&T's, suggesting coordinated efforts to influence or disrupt communication during critical events such as Super Tuesday primaries.

"CONSPIRACY THEORY! FB just experienced an outage/disruption on a TUESDAY," one person wrote on Facebook at the time. "Some reports are saying that HACKERS are getting ready - PRACTICING - for upcoming elections, also called SUPER TUESDAYS," they added.

While Meta and AT&T provided explanations for their respective outages, the exact cause of Reddit's recent downtime remains under investigation. Regardless, these incidents underscore the importance of maintaining robust and reliable online infrastructure, especially in today's digital age, where platforms like Reddit play pivotal roles in communication and information dissemination.