If Your Facebook Images Aren't Showing Up, Don't Blame The Wifi

You may have logged onto your Facebook this morning to find a random image outage affecting your feed. Perhaps, you then refreshed your browser. When that didn't yield satisfying results, perhaps, like me, you turned your WiFi off and then back on again. But that didn't make much of a difference. So, why aren't images on Facebook showing up? This pesky problem is happening across accounts, so your slow WiFi isn't to blame.

In an emailed statement, a Facebook spokesperson wrote that the company is working as quickly as possible to fix the issue. The statement reads,

During one of our routine maintenance operations, we triggered an issue that is making it difficult for some people to upload or send photos and videos. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Our days consist of social media check ins. It's the modern way to stay in touch. We keep our friends clued into our whereabouts and our aunts in Canada up to date with regular picture uploads. But on Wednesday, it seemed like our friends and aunts weren't able to access our picture posts, and vice versa. Instead of the image, users were seeing a blank frame with text describing the picture in key words. For instance, a picture of myself with friends read, "Image may contain: 2 people, including Brittany Bennett, people smiling, people standing, indoor and food." It's not wrong, it's just not painting the whole picture I shared.

So, what's happening and when will this picture blackout cease? According to The Verge, Facebook is "aware of the issues" and is working on restoring the problem so we can all go back to regularly scheduled picture perusing and posting. The problem doesn't seem to be affecting all photos posted to Facebook. Selective images appeared blank at random beginning early on Wednesday, leading Facebook users to suspect the social media platform was being weird. According to website monitor DownDetector, this blank image issue peaked by mid-morning. As recently as noon, the reports have decreased.

Images not showing up on social media this morning are not only affecting Facebook users. Instagram and WhatsApp users have also reported issues with loading and viewing images. And if you're a business or a brand utilizing social media for marketing purposes, mishaps like today can be frustrating. And if Facebook and Instagram are acting up, the people take to Twitter to share their woes.

"Pictures won't load on IG, Facebook and messenger. Twitter remains the superior app," Twitter account @mattramos77 writes. Another Twitter account, probably anticipating to post a few pictures soon, tweets, "get it fixed fb cause we hope to show off another grand baby soon." The tweet is punctuated with a heart and laugh-cry emoji. Other Twitter accounts are finding humor in the current issue plaguing pictures worldwide, expressing their feelings through GIFs — obviously.

At 12:18 p.m. EST, Facebook took to its official Twitter account to update the masses. "We're sorry for the trouble and are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible," the official tweet reads. These social media bugs hit every so often but are taken seriously and handled swiftly.

While we wait for our photos to reload, make the most of Twitter. Express your emotions through GIFs with #facebookdown as the people at Facebook work diligently to return our photos back to normal.