Microblogging platform Tumblr appears to be experiencing some technical difficulties, after a number of users reported that random content was being posted from their accounts. Twitter has been awash with messages flagging the issue, although it’s unclear at this point exactly how many users are affected, or what the cause of the problem is.
Spotted by TechRadar, a group of users are reporting that random pornography is flooding their Tumblr blogs – although the content being shared appears to cover almost every conceivable topic.
Users have also said that posts published by people they do not follow are also appearing in their dashboard.
Why do I have strange random posts from people I don’t follow in my tumblr feed?
— Joanie San Chirico (@joanieStudio) August 21, 2013
There are posts on my tumblr that I never reblogged, and it won’t let me delete them. What is going on right now?!
— yeah boy & (@d0llf4ce_) August 21, 2013
Also what the hell is @tumblr doing? Why do I have posts on my dash from people I do not follow? Why can’t I block them?
— TeaOtter (@TeaOtter) August 21, 2013
A quick search for ‘Tumblr Support’ on the blogging platform brings up similar results. A member of Tumblr’s Trust and Safety team reportedly said to one user: “Our engineers are aware of this issue and are currently working on a fix. We hope to have the problem resolved shortly.” The company has since notified users on Twitter too:
Our engineering team is working quickly to repair an issue causing incorrect posts to appear on a small number of affected blogs.
— Tumblr (@tumblr) August 21, 2013
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
The problems are reportedly still prevalent for a large number of users. TNW has reached out to Tumblr to clarify the issue and will update this post if and when we hear back.
Update: A spokesperson for Tumblr said an infrastructure failure, rather than any form of hack, is to blame for the problems experienced by its users.
“Earlier this morning, an infrastructure failure lasting roughly fifteen minutes led posts created in this window to become corrupt,” the spokesperson told TNW. “No data was lost, but this has been causing inconsistent behavior for these affected blogs. Our engineering team is working quickly to correct the situation.”
Featured image: joshwept
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.