Facebook users have expressed confusion after receiving a banner message on their profile pages and news feeds, which flagged their account as memorialised, as if they had died.
Memorialised accounts are preserved pages, created as a way for people on Facebook to remember and celebrate those who have passed away.
![Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was one of the users who was killed off.](/web/20161114030351im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/n/r/g/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsnr8k.png/1479025672420.jpg)
Usually Facebook waits until it is informed of the death of a user by a family member or friend, before memorialising an account.
However on Saturday morning, multiple users on social media reported that they had received a notice on their page "remembering" them, alongside the message, "We hope people who love [name] will find comfort in the things other share to remember and celebrate their life."
Most people reporting the message appeared to be based in the US.
So my facebook is currently showing all accounts as memorialized. So. As far as I know I'm not dead.
— Nora (@amerynn) November 11, 2016
Something not good on #Facebook. Facebook is showing memorialized accounts banner on top of every account pic.twitter.com/EPVnbyPeK6
— Suhaib Malik (@suhaibmalik) November 11, 2016
Following a difficult #election season, Facebook has killed all of us. pic.twitter.com/jEkXsVgFWP
— Lisa Barone (@LisaBarone) November 11, 2016
While some made links between the ominous message and Tuesday's election result, Facebook has confirmed that the notification was the result of a technical error.
"For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialised profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts. This was a terrible error that we have now fixed," a Facebook spokesperson said.
"We are very sorry that this happened and we worked as quickly as possible to fix it."