Canadian Conundrum: Suicide Victim’s Photo Used In Facebook Ad For Dating Site
Facebook apologized for a case of advertising gone awry in Canada, where photos of a teen girl who committed suicide in April were used in ads for a dating website.
Facebook apologized for a case of advertising gone awry in Canada, where photos of a teen girl who committed suicide in April were used in ads for a dating website.
Global News reported that pictures of Rehtaeh Parsons of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, were used in right-hand-side ads promoting ionechat.com, a since-shuttered dating site, alongside the following message:
Find love in Canada! Meet Canadian girls and women for friendship, dating or relationships. Sign up now!
The ads began surfacing Tuesday, Global News reported, and Anh Dung, an administrator for the site, told Global News in an email that the photos of Parsons were randomly chosen from Google Images, adding that this incident was the “biggest mistake” he has ever made, and saying:
I (used the photos) accidentally because I (didn’t) know about the story with the woman.
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