[Max_aaa]

Technical issue (most probably the case) or coverup?

It is amazing how far some people go with trying to explain this.

[PragmaticPulp]

> Technical issue (most probably the case) or coverup?

The whistleblower story is all over every news site.

Turning off everyone's favorite time wasting website is the worst possible way to cover it up. How many people are typing "Facebook down" into Google and getting the Facebook whistleblower news story in the "Related News" section of their results?

It's not a coverup.

[jader201]

> It's not a coverup.

While I tend to agree, you can't say that definitively -- no one can at this point, except those at FB super close to this issue.

> The whistleblower story is all over every news site.

As many point out in your other comment above on this, the outage is drowning out the whistleblower story on most search engines.

[Max_aaa]

I know it is not a coverup, just the question that the "world" seems to be asking.

Myself, I would pit to either Technical Issue, or internal sabotage as an act of protest.

[nashadelic]

Yes, conspiracy theories amok. Mine: considering the 60 minutes piece, could be a disgruntled, internal employee as well?

[hackbinary]

The proper term is "conspiracy fantasy".

[ohiovr]

The one with Mark and wire cutters was pretty amusing.

[tofuahdude]

Coverup?

I'm so curious what you mean. How could you come to the conclusion that it is anything other than a technical issue?

[jader201]

While it's certainly possible (likely?) that it's "just" a technical issue, the article talks about this:

> The mass outage comes just hours after CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a much-anticipated interview with Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower who recently leaked a number of internal Facebook investigations showing the company knew its products were causing mass harm, and that it prioritized profits over taking bolder steps to curtail abuse on its platform — including disinformation and hate speech.

> We don’t know how or why the outages persist at Facebook and its other properties, but the changes had to have come from inside the company, as Facebook manages those records internally. Whether the changes were made maliciously or by accident is anyone’s guess at this point.

I think we can't completely rule out the possible connection to this. Again, likely isn't, but answering the question how one might come to the conclusion.

[yurishimo]

I mean, Cambridge Analytica is the example here. Facebook has been privy to some shady shit at the very least. Is it likely that they purposefully took down all their revenue making machines to distract from the 60 minutes piece? No, probably not. But they've demonstrated that they can't be trusted so it's at least worth investigating.