Delta Airlines has been accused of "racism" and forced to apologise after a tweet it posted about the World Cup portrayed Ghana with a picture of a giraffe – despite the fact that there are no giraffes in the West African country.
The airline said it will now review its use of social media. A spokesperson said the use of an image of a giraffe to represent Ghana was "both inaccurate and inappropriate".
The tweet congratulated the US football team for its 2 – 1 victory over Ghana and included a photo of the Statue of Liberty to represent the US alongside the photo of a giraffe, which was intended to represent Ghana.
The move outraged some on Twitter who claimed it was "racial stereotyping", although some social media users jumped to Delta’s support, saying it was guilty of "ignorance" but not "racism".
Delta has since Tweeted: "We’re sorry for our choice of photo in our previous tweet. Best of luck to all teams".
A spokesman said: "As a global airline we understand the role images play in shaping global perceptions. We also recognise our responsibility to create messages that are both accurate and inclusive. We take this responsibility seriously.
"Yesterday, we failed to meet this responsibility. For this, we sincerely apologise.
"We have removed the image and are reviewing our processes to ensure that future images and posts reflect both our values and our global focus."
