Facebook is telling users they're dead

I just logged on to Facebook and was greeted with this at the top of my profile:

When someone dies, their family or loved ones can turn their account into a memorialized account. The thing is, I’m not dead, and neither are the many other people being served this message on Facebook.

This comes on the heels of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying that Facebook does not have a problem with fake news and misinformation, and then immediately being impersonated by a teen in a viral Facebook post. Great timing, Facebook!

Not all users are being told they are dead; it’s unclear how widespread the problem was or what caused it, but it was short-lived.

“For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialized profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts,” said a Facebook spokesperson via 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.”

Joking aside, this could potentially scare the shit out of someone who, say, hadn’t heard about the bug or didn’t understand. Especially since those affected see them on almost everyone’s profile. Everyone:

In the meantime, a PSA: If you’re reading this, you are probably alive.

Ethan Chiel is a reporter for Fusion, writing mostly about the internet and technology. You can (and should) email him at [email protected]