Norway has apologised for offence with a photo of gingerbread cut into the shape of F-35 fighter jets. The post on Norway’s official Instagram page was coined by a member of staff in a government department. The country had just invested in two of the jets and appeared to want to flash their latest military purchases.
However, the photo on the newly launched page caused offence to many Norwegians. Comments on the post include: “Personally I associate Christmas with peace and what one can do for others.” and “Fighters are weapons and weapons have little to do with Christmas.”
Hours later the government apologised for the post. “A government account on Instagram also has a heart,” the apology said. “We understand that many people reacted to the post of fighter jet cookies and we of course once again apologise. This account is the government’s official presence on Instagram and each department uses it to show things both big and small from everyday life. A continued Merry Christmas to our followers.”
The account @regjeringen was only opened last week, “We just started it last week as a project to evaluate if the Norwegian Government should have an account on Instagram.”