Facebook Prematurely Declares Users Dead

The hugely popular social media site Facebook has made many a faux pas. There was the time they sent users a well-intentioned album to mark their year in pictures. It was meant to be a fun, reminiscent journey in memories, but they failed to anticipate that not everyone had a great year. Some people lost loved ones, and these albums became a grim reminder of difficult times better left to the archives. A recent glitch declared millions of users dead — including Facebook’s own founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Whoops!

Early in November, a bug caused a bleak tremor to sound through the cyberverse (and likely a wave of anxiety and panicked phone/text outreach to countless friends and family) when it turned a large number of active profiles into commemorative ones. The commemorative status was first introduced in 2015 and is applied to a profile after a loved one is declared to be deceased in order to memorialize and preserve their memory. The word “remembering” is placed before their name along with the thoughtful statement “We hope people who love <name of the deceased> will find comfort in the things others share to remember and celebrate her/his life.” Facebook’s own CEO was among the wrongfully and prematurely RIP’d, though this was promptly amended by a spokesperson who alerted users to the unfortunate glitch. A chilling and macabre error nevertheless, especially for those still living who were privy to their own site’s wake.

Read More: Why Did Twitter Decide to Shut Down Vine?

To deal with the confusion and inevitable alarm, many took to Twitter to reassure the world they were alive and kicking. Often with humor, those affected users gave a shout out to the platform, posting “Hello yes @Facebook I am not dead. What is happening?” and “Does Facebook think I’m dead?” Some users responded directly on the site asking about what was going on, or joining in on the joke by posturing as their own ghost.

Facebook was quick to rectify the awkward error and released an update and apology to inform their user base that the issue was resolved. Users were also given the option to delete their profile page or have it switch to a commemorative one after their death for grieving friends and family to visit.