YouTube Outage Reported Across the US

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On Tuesday evening, hundreds of thousands of YouTube users across the United States reported issues accessing the video-sharing platform. The outage was first noticed around 6:50 PM CT, with over 355,000 users reporting problems by 7:18 PM. Users in major cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix were among those affected, with many taking to social media to complain about the disruption.

Why it matters

YouTube is one of the most widely used video platforms globally, with billions of users. An outage of this scale can significantly impact content creators, advertisers, and users who rely on the platform for entertainment, education, and communication. Understanding the cause and scope of the disruption is important to assess the broader implications.

The details

According to reports, users began experiencing issues with YouTube around 6:50 PM CT on Tuesday, with the number of reported problems peaking at over 355,000 by 7:18 PM. The outage appeared to affect users across the country, with a Downdetector heatmap showing widespread issues in major cities. Many users took to social media, using the hashtag "#YouTubeDOWN" to express their frustration with the platform's unavailability.

• The first reports of issues with YouTube began around 6:50 PM CT on Tuesday, February 18, 2026.
• By 7:18 PM CT, over 355,000 users had reported problems with the platform.

What’s next

Google, the owner of YouTube, has not yet provided an official statement or explanation for the outage. As the situation develops, the company is expected to investigate the cause of the disruption and work to restore full functionality to the platform.