Facebook error leaves many people, including Zuckerberg, dead
An unprecedented Facebook error, the world’s leading social network platform, briefly pronounced many of its subscribers dead, including its founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
The unusual error was caused by a bug which caused the social network to show a memorial banner on user profiles for people who were still alive.
On Zuckerberg’s page, the banner read: “We hope people who love Mark will find comfort in the things other share to remember and celebrate his life.”
Users quickly reassured their loved ones – with a little bit of humour from some – of their ‘alive’ status by updating their status.
Katie Rogers, a New York Times reporter, humorously said: “Why Is Facebook Saying I’m Dead? At first, I was indignant. I was definitely not dead. (Was I? It had been a long week.)”
A Facebook spokesperson offered an apology for the error, saying: “This was a terrible error that we have now fixed, we are very sorry that this happened.”
On Facebook, users can opt to have their account turn into a memorial page upon their death. The feature was launched in 2015, after a number of high-profile cases where family wanted to access the social accounts of deceased loved ones.
