Facebook glitch clutters feeds with celeb posts

This week, a Facebook glitch inadvertently bogged feeds with celebrity posts. The incident came to attention after numerous reports came in.

The glitch, which occurred in the early hours, resulted in users–mostly, you know, “normal people”–seeing more than the usual share of celebrity posts. But it didn’t come down to the celebs’ posts necessarily, but rather anyone else posting on the celeb’s feed. So, if you were trying to get Scarlett Johansson’s phone number some time this morning, you very well could have had your post read by thousands.

Screenshots have shown various one-sided interactions between fans and celebrities. One gave Eminem a flirtatious “Hello baby” with a smooch emoji. Another merely wanted to show Oscar-winning Billie Eilish a picture of his dog.

According to leading website outage analyzer Downdetector, complaints about the Facebook glitch posts hit a peak at 2:49 a.m., with over 2,800 reports. As of publication, there are under 100.

Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, made the following statement: “Earlier today, a configuration change caused some people to have trouble with their Facebook Feed…We resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted, and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

Considering Facebook–and other social media platforms–have come under fire for targeted ads and posts based on your web history, it’s possible you may now start seeing posts about celebrity posts! How’s that for Meta?

While this week’s Facebook glitch posts has been resolved, the company still can’t do anything about stopping your uncle’s political rants from flooding your feed. Those are there to stay.

Facebook/Meta, which rebranded last year, lists its principles on its website. They include giving people a voice, making tech available to all and, yes, protecting privacy.

Season two of Showtime’s Pumped will focus on Facebook.

What are your thoughts on Facebook’s glitch? Did you experience any second-hand celebrity posts?