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Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), experienced widespread outages on Monday morning, affecting thousands of users in both the US and the UK. Downdetector reported tens of thousands of outage notifications from users across the US, while over 8,000 users in the UK also encountered issues shortly before 14:00 GMT. Many users struggled to access the platform throughout the day, with connectivity issues continuing into the afternoon.

Widespread Disruptions Reported The outages left users unable to load their feeds on the X app and desktop site. A loading icon appeared instead of the usual content, leaving many frustrated. The disruptions were particularly severe in the US, where the issue was reported as widespread. Users in the UK reported similar problems, with connectivity issues peaking just before 14:00 GMT.

Musk Blames Cyber-Attack for the Outage Elon Musk took to X to claim that the widespread issues were caused by a “massive cyber-attack.” He pointed to the “Ukraine area” as the source of the attack but did not provide any direct evidence to back up his assertion. Musk speculated that either a large, coordinated group or even a nation-state was behind the attack. In an interview with Fox Business, Musk stated that attackers had used Internet Protocol (IP) addresses originating from Ukraine to target X’s infrastructure.

Despite Musk’s claims, there was no independent verification of the source or scale of the attack. The ambiguity left many questioning the true cause of the disruptions.

Experts Weigh In on the Cyber-Attack Theory Experts have suggested that the outages may indeed be linked to a cyber-attack. Alp Toker, the director of NetBlocks, a company monitoring web service connectivity, indicated that the patterns observed during the disruptions resembled past denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Toker noted that the outages lasted more than six hours and had global implications. His analysis suggested that the disruptions were caused by an attack designed to overwhelm X’s infrastructure, consistent with the behavior of a DDoS attack.

A DDoS attack involves flooding a website with excessive traffic in an attempt to overwhelm its servers, causing the site to go offline. Musk had previously mentioned similar attacks targeting X, but no independent confirmations have been made regarding the specific nature of these incidents.

Musk’s Controversial Comments on Ukraine In addition to the platform disruptions, Musk also found himself at the center of controversy on Monday following a heated exchange with US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. Musk criticized Kelly for visiting Ukraine, calling him a “traitor.” Kelly, who is a member of the Democratic Party, defended his trip, emphasizing the importance of supporting Ukraine in its ongoing conflict.

Kelly responded to Musk’s comments on X, arguing that defending freedom was a core American value. He suggested that Musk should leave such matters to those who understand them better, emphasizing the need for the US to continue supporting the Ukrainian people.

The exchange between Musk and Kelly added to the chaos surrounding X, as the platform faced technical difficulties and high-profile public disputes. This incident further fueled the ongoing debates about Musk’s management of X and his public stance on political issues.

Impact of the Outage and Looking Forward The massive disruptions to X come at a time when the platform is already under intense scrutiny. Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in late 2022, X has faced various challenges, from changes in platform policies to technical difficulties like the one experienced on Monday. The rise of competing social media platforms has only intensified pressure on Musk to ensure X remains a reliable service for its millions of users worldwide.

As experts continue to analyze the cause of the cyber-attack, questions remain about how X will respond to future security threats. Musk’s claims about the involvement of foreign actors may fuel further concerns about the platform’s vulnerability, while also reigniting debates about his stance on geopolitics.

The incident underscores the growing concerns over the security of social media platforms, especially in a time of heightened political tensions and cyber threats. With X’s continued prominence in global discourse, its ability to recover from such disruptions will be closely watched by both users and industry experts.

As X continues to grapple with the aftermath of this massive disruption, the full extent of the damage remains unclear. The platform’s management will need to address both the technical issues and the public relations fallout that comes with such high-profile outages. As Musk’s claims about cyber-attacks remain unverified, the tech world will be looking closely at how X handles the crisis in the coming days.

In the meantime, users are left wondering about the future stability of the platform, as X navigates both technical and political challenges. This event serves as a reminder of the complex intersection between technology, geopolitics, and user security in the age of social media.

For more on this developing story, follow updates on Financial Mirror.