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Small Business Lifestyle

Facebook, Instagram and Threads down globally after ‘technical issue’ [Video]

Numerous people reported on other social media sites that they were unable to access Meta’s platforms on Wednesday afternoon starting around 1 p.m. EST.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If you had trouble accessing Facebook or Instagram on Wednesday afternoon – it wasn’t just you. 

Several of Meta’s social media platforms experienced issues globally on Wednesday afternoon, including WhatsApp, Threads, Instagram and Facebook. People who tried to access the websites around 1 p.m. EST were greeted with a “something went wrong” message. As of 3:50 p.m., the platforms appeared to be working again.

People on WhatsApp, a popular global messaging service run by Meta, said they were unable to send messages around 1 p.m. People in other countries reported similar issues.

At 2 p.m., the Instagram account on X posted it was working to fix a “technical issue” impacting people’s ability to access the platform.

Hi, we know there’s a technical issue impacting some people’s ability to access Instagram.

We’re working to get things back to normal …

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Small Business Lifestyle

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new 'Department of Government Efficiency' [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency" which is not, despite the name, a government agency.The acronym DOGE is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House advice and guidance and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before. He added that the move would shock government systems.It's not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.Musk posted on X: Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be (fire emojis). Later he added: Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election.The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings nearly a third of total annual government spending.Trump had made clear that Musk would likely not hold any kind of full-time position, given his other commitments.I dont think I can get him full-time because hes a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does, Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. He said the waste in this country is crazy. And were going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter.Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump.Trump said in his statement the two will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."