X bug causing GIFs to take over whole screen as they keep growing

Many X users are running into a strange bug on the platform. Reports online suggest that the GIFs in comments and replies are, for some, uncontrollably expanding, growing downwards and effectively taking over the entire screen. This glitch is making the platform difficult, if not impossible, to use for those affected.

I spotted multiple reports appear on Reddit and X itself over the past few hours. The issue appears to involve GIFs embedded in replies. Instead of displaying normally, these animated images begin to stretch vertically, seemingly without end. This continuous growth pushes all other content down the page, creating an infinite scroll effect that users can’t stop.

I was able to replicate the bug on a Pixel 8 using Google Chrome. Check out the screen recording below for reference:

One user on Reddit, Square_Try9668, described the problem: “Hi I have this bug when using google chrome. When someone post gif in comments the gif gonna stretch downwards. It never stops. it makes the whole page unusable because it moves my screen like its scrolling down with the gif stretching.”

Similarly, users also reported the bug on X. One user, @CuriousAngel_ posted, “the gif doesn’t stop growing for some reason, even while typing this it’s still growing.” Another user, @Frostierwinters, highlighted the struggle: “Im struggling to write a response because everything is literally scrolling down due to the GIF growing LMAO had a similar issue earlier today where twitter started scrolling on its own.” The sentiment was echoed by @PigeonPiklNikl who simply asked, “why is the gif growing.”

Interestingly, the bug doesn’t seem to be uniformly affecting all users or all platforms. In my testing, I was only able to replicate the bug on the Chrome browser on a Pixel 8. I could not replicate it on Chrome or Opera on a Mac, nor was I able to replicate the bug on the iOS or Android apps. However, some users have shared video evidence suggesting the GIF-growing phenomenon is indeed happening on desktop browsers for them as well. For example, check this screen recording shared on X:

As of now, there’s no official word from X regarding the cause of this visual anomaly or when a fix might be implemented. Users are left to wonder what’s causing these GIFs to embark on their endless downward journey, hoping for a swift resolution so they can get back to their normal scrolling.