#InternetShutDown: The meme floodgates open on Twitter as Facebook, Instagram go down for 6 hours
With Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp down for nearly six hours, people turned to Twitter for their social media fix. The massive outage opened a floodgate of memes on Twitter with #InternetShutdown trending on the platform even though the apps have been back up for a few hours.
The official Twitter account welcomed "literally everyone" as users flocked to the app.
hello literally everyone
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 4, 2021
Official brand accounts such as Instagram, McDonald's, Microsoft Teams, and even British singer Adele replied to the greeting tweet.
Hi and happy Monday ??
— Instagram (@instagram) October 4, 2021
ahdfljhadsjdlash ADELE?!?!
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 4, 2021
In a funny interaction between Twitter and McDonald's, the social platform told the fast-food chain that it wants 59.6 million nuggets, a nod to the number of followers the account has.
59.6 million nuggets for my friends
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 4, 2021
Aside from #InternetShutDown (which Twitter made an icon for), WhatsApp, #facebookdown, and Mark Zuckerberg trended worldwide with users discussing how the outage has caused Facebook creator Zuckerberg to lose $6 billion in one day.
Mark Zuckerberg losing $7 billion in ONE DAY is pretty awesome because fuck that guy.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) October 4, 2021
Alternative chat apps like Telegram and iMessage also trended with some users joking about how their communications weren't affected. Others suggested switching from WhatsApp to other messaging platforms.
Telegram's official Twitter account has also been replying to users with memes about the Facebook outage.
come over, the servers are up and my parents aren't home
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) October 4, 2021
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) October 4, 2021
Netflix and other users joined the conversation with Squid Game references.
When Instagram & Facebook are down. pic.twitter.com/mVFlVOOCOC
— Netflix (@netflix) October 4, 2021
Congratulations Twitter! you made it to the next round! #InternetShutDown pic.twitter.com/An8GWRiZBq
— Sam Cook (@SamCook_7) October 4, 2021
#instagramdown #facebookdown #WhatsApp #InternetShutDown
— JEYBPRONO ? (@JeybProno) October 4, 2021
00Facebook dead
00Instagram dead
00whatsapp dead pic.twitter.com/10ZU8bINkZ
Here are some other hilarious memes about the long shutdown.
Mark zuckerberg trying to fix Instagram, whatsapp and Facebook at a same time #DeleteFacebook #Telegram #WhatsApp #MarkZuckerberg #Snapchat #instagramdown #facebookwhistleblower pic.twitter.com/88DcOSvXah
— Bhat faheem (@Azlanbhat1) October 5, 2021
Bring back Yahoo! Messenger. I miss the BUZZ alert. #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/l1Jqi1tr2r
— Green Thumb (@BentAsmr) October 4, 2021
hoshi fixing #InternetShutDown at the moment @pledis_17 pic.twitter.com/FdCOwmxkcb
— ai | med school ? ? (@miss_svtmafia) October 4, 2021
These #facebookdown memes are just ? pic.twitter.com/ddTHfzOx59
— MD. Reyad Ahmed Orko?? (@ReyadOrko) October 5, 2021
Prior to the outage, Facebook has been grappling with the testimony of a whistleblower who revealed how the company knew its products were fueling hate and harming children's mental health. The Wall Street Journal also reported on how the social media giant was aware of Instagram's negative effects on young girls' body image.