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Facebook users were unable to load the social network on desktop computers or mobile phones.

Most users reported a "total blackout", meaning the site would not load, or that they were unable to log in to their accounts.

They were left with different error messages.

Some of the messages claimed the site was down for maintenance, while others were left with a blank page.

The outage left users unable to share links or post articles.

(Image: DS) (Image: Down detector)

Independent website Down Detector, which measures social mentions around a certain topic to track outages across the globe, showed thousands of users reporting issues.

Parts of the UK and the US had the most trouble.

One Facebook fan posted a message online saying they'd been faced with a message that read: "Facebook will be back soon.

(Image: Facebook)

"Thanks for your patience as we improve the site."

One user wrote on rival social network site Twitter: "SEND HELP, FACEBOOK IS DOWN."

"What's going on with Facebook," another said.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter)

Issues were first reported at 4.10pm.

The site is used by more than a billion people across the globe.

Facebook is yet to comment.

(Image: Down detector)

It is not the first time the popular site has gone down.

In August, hundreds of users were blocked from the site.

Facebook never said why it went down, but thanked users for their patience.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter)

Twitter users saw the funny side and posted hilarious memes this afternoon as they struggled to log in.

"One cannot work knowing Facebook is down," one posted with a picture of Homer Simpson.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter)

Instagram users also had trouble logging in.

Users were being affected mainly in the US.

And on Monday, the social messaging app Snapchat went down.