New Delhi: Norway’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday pointed Twitter towards its labelling of ministry as an organisation representing the African nation, Nigeria.
The Micro-blogging site labelled the certified Twitter accounts of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt, and her ministry as Nigerian government officials or institutions.
In a tweet, the foreign ministry said: “Dear @TwitterSupport, as much as we enjoy our excellent bilateral relations and close alphabetical vicinity with Nigeria, we would much appreciate it if you could label us as Norway. P.S. That also goes for Prime Minister @jonasgahrstore and foreign minister @AHuitfeldt.”
Dear @TwitterSupport, as much as we enjoy our excellent bilateral relations and close alphabetical vicinity with Nigeria, we would much appreciate if you could label us as Norway😉
P.S. That also goes for Prime Minister @jonasgahrstore and Foreign Minister @AHuitfeldt 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/wr6cb3yv2W
— Norway MFA (@NorwayMFA) December 13, 2022
Twitter places labels and small flag icons on some accounts to signal affiliation with governments. Recently, automated mislabeling of tweets has also been a problem on the microblogging site.
The label appears on the profile page of the relevant Twitter account and on the Tweets sent by and shared from these accounts. Labels contain information about the country the account is affiliated with and whether it is operated by a government representative or state-affiliated media entity.
Meanwhile, internet users were quick to notice the gaffe and mocked Twitter in funny ways.
”They must have fired the one guy who knows how to find both countries on the map,” a user wrote. Another commented, ”Good luck getting a response from support. That office is probably down to an answering machine at this point.”
A third wrote, ”Now that Norway is an annex of Nigeria, my Nigerian passport should at least grant me free entry into Norway now. No?”
