The New Zealand Police have taken down and apologised for a ‘tone-deaf’ meme that received online backlash overnight.
Ostensibly about road safety, the meme uses the ubiquitous image of Steve Carrel’s character from The Office saying, ‘This is the worst’ under the words, ‘When we have to tell someone their family member has died in a car crash’.
Posted on Monday morning, the tweet and image have landed the New Zealand Police in hot water with more than a few comments slamming the image.
The New Zealand Police have taken down and apoligised for tweeting this ‘insensitive’ meme
One retweet said: ‘OK, it’s only Monday, but this tweet by NZ Police already takes the booby prize for social media fail of the week. Tone-deaf.
‘Fail of the week,’ commented another. ‘Yes some clown from the NZ Police Dept is trying to be funny about people dying in road crashes but failing spectacularly. Fire that clown!’
A Twitter user named McChisel has called the New Zealand Police force tweet ‘fail of the week’
Another unhappy user tweeted her disgust that ‘…they dragged Steve Carell into this mess.’
NZ Deputy Chief Executive of PA, Karen Jones
Deputy Chief Executive of Public Affairs for the force, Karen Jones, told news.com.au the ‘road safety tweet’ imagery was ‘wrong’
‘We feel terrible about this mistake, as we put victims at the heart of what police do,’ she said.
‘Social media is a hugely important channel to NZ Police.
‘We appreciated the prompt feedback we got from members of our community who pointed out the inappropriateness of the tweet.
‘We are extremely sorry and will learn from this.’
The New Zealand Police Department also issued their own apology.
The New Zealand Police have issued an apology for tweeting a ‘tone deaf’ meme on Monday
One Twitter user said that the joke belonged on the ‘call centre floor’, not on NZ social media
‘We’re sorry this was not meant to cause offence. Telling someone their family member has died is literally the worst part of the job,’ NZ Police wrote after removing the tweet.
‘Telling someone their loved one is not coming home is one of the hardest things cops ever have to do.
‘We apologise for the recent road safety tweet. We quickly realised it was wrong and insensitive and it was immediately deleted. Thx (sic) for feedback.’
NIk Dirga tweeted the NZ Police ‘already takes the booby prize for social media fail of the weel’
Another disgustedTwitter user simply wrote of the ‘tone-deaf’ meme: ‘That is SO not ok. wow’