Kate Mills 
Dec 17, 2023
Is YouTube down today? Users from different parts of Pakistan have reported an outage of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. According to Downdetector, the apps, especially the website versions have been down since around 7pm local time.
The map on the site shows Karachi, Lahore, Mir Pur Khas, and Rawalpindi to be the most affected regions in the country. Some users have taken to WhatsApp to report issues as well.
Why is YouTube down today?
While many users over the country are experiencing the problem, the reason behind the outage remains unclear. Netblocks reported that the nationwide disruption occurred shortly before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was set to host a virtual rally, which was slated to begin at 9pm.
While we don't know what's happening right now, sometimes, during times of social unrest or protests within a region, the unavailability of platforms like YouTube and Twitter can stem from various reasons. Government censorship or deliberate shutdowns might aim to control information flow and prevent the organisation of protesters, while network overload due to increased user traffic during critical events could overwhelm servers, causing temporary outages.
Additionally, technical glitches, DDoS attacks, content blocking, DNS tampering, government regulations, or political interference may also contribute to these platforms becoming inaccessible, impacting communication and information dissemination among protesters and the public.
The official statement regarding the cause of the disruption is pending from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Till then, Pakistanis are wondering why is YouTube down as well as Twitter and are already posting memes about it on Facebook.
