Twitter is buzzing with a new trend and people, as always, are making the most out of it. The hashtag #SeduceSomeoneInFourWords has been one of the top trends around the globe and some tweets in response to that are outright hilarious. But there's a delicate line between humour and offensive humour and the German Foreign Office was caught in the latter.
Joining in on the #SeduceSomeoneInFourWords fun, the official Twitter handle of the German Foreign Office tweeted "Your visa got approved" followed by the trending hashtag on Thursday. But the joke did not sit well with a lot of Twitter users, who called out the German Foreign Office for the tweet's insensitivity.
'Your visa got approved' isn't funny
The German Foreign Office's tweet went viral, but it was taken down shortly after. The government office later issued an apology for how the previous tweet could have hurt some people's feelings.
"Being funny is apparently not always our strong suit. We deleted the tweet below and apologize to all who were offended by this. We know the visa process is complex, and visa decisions can deeply affect peoples' lives. Our colleagues take these decisions very seriously," the office tweeted.
Even though the original tweet was deleted, the German Foreign Office included a screenshot of the tweet in its apology.
People's reactions
Following the tweet, a lot of users critiqued the office's attempt at humour. As noted by the Evening Standard, one user said "People wait years for a visa, often for family reunion, medical treatment or working/studying. The process is often really hard and often humiliating for someone from a developing country. Seeing them joking about it is outright offensive."
While another user also expressed similar criticism, saying, "Playing on people's feelings is inappropriate! There are thousands of people who're waiting for their visas to get approved in order to come and get treatment, study etc."
Meanwhile, another user wrote: "If your visa application process did not make people feel less than human, it might have been funny. But it does. So this is gloating in your discretionary power, laughing at people who are subjected to it. Not cool, and quite out of touch."
While some users took the joke as it was intended, many accepted the government body's apology and wished the tweet wasn't deleted.
What do you think of the German Foreign Office's attempt at humour?
