Cloudflare Outage Disrupts ChatGPT, X, And Major Platforms Worldwide

Cloudflare Outage Disrupts ChatGPT, X, And Major Platforms Worldwide

On November 18, 2025, a significant outage at Cloudflare, a leading web traffic management and security company, disrupted access to several major platforms, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Elon Musk’s social media platform, X.

The outage, which began early in the morning, left users worldwide unable to access these services, sparking widespread frustration.

Cloudflare reported the issue on its live status page, describing it as an “internal service degradation” caused by a sudden and unusual spike in traffic.

This surge overwhelmed parts of its network, leading to intermittent service disruptions.

While the company has since made progress in restoring functionality, it warned that users might still experience higher-than-normal error rates as remediation efforts continue.

The outage also impacted other popular platforms, such as Spotify and the fan fiction site Archive of Our Own, highlighting the extensive reliance on Cloudflare’s infrastructure.

Known for its role in managing internet traffic and defending against cyberattacks, Cloudflare’s services are integral to the smooth operation of countless websites globally.

As Cloudflare works to identify the root cause of the traffic spike, questions about the resilience of such systems in the face of unexpected disruptions are likely to intensify.

The outage also had financial repercussions, with Cloudflare’s stock dropping over 3% in premarket trading.

As the company continues its investigation, the event serves as a stark reminder of the interconnected nature of the internet and the cascading effects a single point of failure can have on global digital services