Facebook sorry for 'terrible error' that killed off still-living users
Some users were shocked to see memorial banners at the top of their friends' profile pages Friday afternoon
If your Facebook page says you're dead, don't believe it.
It's telling a lot of people that today.
"For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialized profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts," a spokesperson for the social media site told CBC News in an email. "This was a terrible error that we have now fixed. We are very sorry that this happened and we worked as quickly as possible to fix it.".
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Essentially, the glitch made accounts go into memorialized mode, which adds a banner at the top of the page.
A number of Facebook users reported that their profile page on the social network was topped with a message that referred to them by name — as if they were gone — while linking to a feature that "memorializes" the page of someone who has died.
The message said Facebook hoped the users' loved ones would find comfort in seeing posts that others shared about them.
It didn't happen to all accounts, but it was widespread — and it included Facebook's own founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
While the ghoulish glitch seems to be fixed, it was amusing for many online.
God is dead. - Nietzche, 1883<br><br>Nietzche is dead. - God, 1900<br><br>Everyone is dead. - Facebook, 2016
—@rcalo
let me know when it's safe to get on Facebook again, I just want to watch those cooking videos
—@onherperiod
Not naming names but I have a few friends that will probably believe it when Facebook declares them dead.
—@AndySwan
With files from Paul Haavardsrud and The Canadian Press