North Korean Missile Hitting Facebook’s Server, Causing #FacebookDown, Is Satire
Erica Abbott — October 11, 2017 — October 11, 2017
Simon / Pixabay
Reports that a North Korean missile hit Facebook’s server and caused the social network to crash worldwide are false. Rumors that the most recent #FacebookDown incident was caused by North Korea launching a missile stemmed from a notorious satire website.
According to Hoax Alert, the fake claim originated on 8Shit, an entertainment and satire website. The article claimed that users’ notifications, news feeds and Facebook Messenger due to a North Korean missile hitting Facebook’s server. It purported:
North Korea launched another missile, but this time it accidentally hit Facebook main server in Oregon. Users are having trouble using Facebook today due to this small incident.
“We had a tiny problem and we’re trying to fix it”, stated Facebook spokesman in a press conference. He would have said it on Facebook, but it’s down.
[…] According to South Korea, the missile’s original target might have been SpongeBob’s house, but it accidentally hit Facebook main server.
The report is, of course, entirely fabricated. If the story’s ridiculously outlandish details and quotes weren’t enough to reveal its satirical nature, 8Shit explains in their disclaimer that articles are not meant to be taken seriously:
8Shit is a satire and humor website. It contains cutting edge satire on a diverse range of topics.
The website publishes fake news, shocking rumors and reports with incisive sarcasm, and humor. We also post crazy real news which often sounds too good to be true.
Facebook was, in fact, down for many users worldwide on Wednesday, according to Down Detector. There were more than 12,000 reports to the web-monitoring website by 11 a.m., which sharply dropped during the afternoon. The Verge reports that the most affected areas appeared to be both U.S. coasts and parts of Europe. Instagram was also reportedly down for some users.
Down Detector
See how social media reacted to Facebook’s major crash below:
Social Media Reacts to #FacebookDown by Panicking on Twitter
How I feel as a #SocialMediaManager and Facebook goes down #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/QTCxRB6BRp
— Adam Wood (@AdamPaddyWood) October 11, 2017
Facebook and Instagram are down… and have been for the last hour. Nobody panic! #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/SZP3vxCiJs
— All Tee All Shade (@AllTee_AllShade) October 11, 2017
When facebook’s down and everyone’s like #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/NVzu5A1pbZ
— RetroEnt (@TweetRetroEnt) October 11, 2017
Both Facebook and Instagram are down… so we all end up on Twitter not knowing what else to do #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/D3yFIWXG1D
— CF-Direct (@CF_Direct) October 11, 2017
Facebook is down and thousands suddenly don’t know what to do on their lunch break#facebookdown pic.twitter.com/kViVbfydSY
— Josh K. Elliott (@joshkelliott) October 11, 2017
That moment when Facebook and Instagram let you down but Twitter is always there for you #Facebookdown #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/AUbC4LR2lc
— Michelle Jones (@MeeshyJay) October 11, 2017
Have you seen the satirical story about a North Korean missile hitting Facebook’s server circulating social media? Were you impacted by the social network’s crash? Sound off in the comments section below!
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