During the past weekend, a substantial number of X users observed the unexpected vanishing of older Twitter images from the platform. The company has now officially acknowledged that an unspecified "bug" is the root cause of this issue and is actively engaged in rectifying the situation.
(Photo : CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
This photo illustration shows the X logo (formerly Twitter) on a smartphone screen in Los Angeles, California, on July 31, 2023.
Restoring Pre-2014 Images
The @Support account from X provided insight into a recent situation, as reported by Engadget. It was revealed that over the weekend, a glitch had arisen, resulting in the inability to showcase images dated prior to 2014. Importantly, the incident did not lead to any loss of images or data.
Fortunately, the technical issue has been already addressed and a comprehensive solution is expected to be implemented in the near future. But how did it really start?
The problem initially surfaced when Brazilian vtuber Danilo Takagi shed light on the matter through an X post, previously known as a tweet. Beebom reported that Takagi pointed out the inexplicable vanishing of posts predating 2014 from his X account.
This observation was subsequently corroborated by technologist Tom Coates, who used a tweet to draw attention to the issue. Gradually, the bug gained momentum as an increasing number of users began observing the same anomaly affecting their accounts.
Most Retweeted Image in the Platform
Even tweets dating back to 2014, including the famous Oscars selfie by Ellen DeGeneres, encountered a temporary disruption. In a notable episode of internet history, the snapshot captured by the former talk show host during the 2014 awards ceremony etched itself as one of the most-retweeted tweets on Twitter.
(Photo : Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Host Ellen DeGeneres takes the all-star selfie Twitter Pic that broke Twitter with Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper and Kevin Spacey in the audience during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California.
While the 2014 Oscars image has been reinstated, some other older tweets continue to display missing photos at the moment. In response, X issued a statement through its support account, assuring users that the bug has been rectified and a comprehensive solution is on the horizon, expected to be fully implemented in the upcoming days.
Possible Reasons
While researching the issue, The Verge discovered that Twitter's alterations in 2016 utilized metadata from tweets beginning December 2014 onwards to supplement data from linked webpages and enable attachments without affecting character count.
Consequently, it was solely the earlier posts that were affected by this bug. Certain speculations suggest that the issue might have arisen due to the transition of the company's domains from Twitter.com to X.com. However, the precise cause remains uncertain.
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In March, the platform similarly encountered a brief disruption in the display of photos and links due to alterations in its API. Additionally, the company faced scrutiny for temporarily impeding the functionality of links leading to various competitors and websites associated with entities criticized by Elon Musk in the past.
Musk has frequently voiced concerns about the condition of X's infrastructure; however, to curtail expenses, he has significantly reduced the budget allocated for servers and downsized the workforce of site reliability engineers.
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