{
  "id": 19827340,
  "title": "What do workers do when Microsoft's outage means they can't send emails? Make memes, of course.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/what-do-workers-do-when-microsofts-outage-means-they-cant-send-emails",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-13T15:11:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-365-outage-email-outlook-teams-memes-jokes-2026-11"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Microsoft experienced a global outage affecting its core tools on Thursday and Friday, disrupting millions of workers' ability to send emails and use other essential applications. The tech giant first announced the disruption midday on Thursday, and the issues persisted into Friday. By 9 a.m., despite Microsoft's claim that it had significantly reduced the backlog of emails, the problems continued. The disruption had no evidence of malicious activity.\n\nAs workers grappled with the inconvenience, many turned to humor to cope with the situation. Social media platforms quickly became filled with memes and jokes about the outage. One X post, which garnered 300,000 views, shared a clip from HBO's Succession, depicting Roman Roy, played by Kieran Culkin, receiving panicked emails before awkwardly ignoring them. This resonated with many who found humor in the awkwardness of the situation. Another user joked about their plans going awry because they were just about to send an email that would change everything. Other users suggested alternative communication methods when email was down, such as using the Beacons of Gondor from The Lord of the Rings or reverting to handwritten letters with ink and a quill. Despite the tech giant's efforts to resolve the issue, the outage served as a moment of levity for those affected.",
  "summary": "After a Microsoft outage disrupted millions of workers, some joked about communicating with smoke signals, while Gmail users lamented their bad luck.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "City AM",
        "title": "Microsoft outage leaves courts and Whitehall in the dark",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/microsoft-outage-leaves-courts-and-whitehall-in-the-dark",
        "published": "2026-11-13T11:40:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}