To celebrate Independence Day in the Philippines this year, Facebook created a banner for users to share across the social network. Unfortunately, it also suggested that the country is at war.
As The Philippine Star reports, Facebook’s celebratory graphic featured an image of the Philippine flag with an inverted color scheme — red on top, and blue on the bottom. According to Philippine law, the flag should only be displayed in that configuration during times of war; during peacetime, it’s flown with blue on top and red on bottom. Users were greeted with the banner at the top of their News Feeds on Sunday, and many were quick to point out the error on social media.
Facebook soon acknowledged the mistake, and issued an apology. “This was unintentional, and we’re sorry,” the company said in a statement to The Philippine Star. “We care deeply about the community in the Philippines and, in an attempt to connect people on Independence Day, we made a mistake.”
