In light of Friday's attacks on Paris, Facebook activated a feature allowing people to super-impose the French flag over their profile picture.
Some railed against this idea since the feature was not provided after an attack by ISIS on Lebanon just one day earlier.
One site called LunaPics began offering users the option to convert their profile picture into a show of support for Lebanese victims instead.
Now a website called the "All Flags Profile Photo Converter" cropped up.
The seemingly tongue-in-cheek site states "Show your support to all countries attacked by ISIS, add all their flags to your Facebook profile photo."
Upload your photo, click "convert," and voila! A mash-up of 17 different countries' flags will automatically be pasted over your picture.
This is an interesting commentary on the what some have called "Facebook's double-standard."
Charlotte Farhan's refusal to change her picture went viral when she posted the following caption: "“If I did this for only Paris this would be wrong,” she wrote. “ If I did this for every attack on the world, I would have to change my profile every day several times a day.”
Now folks only have to change it this one time, if they so choose.
It's also important to remember that changing your Facebook photo is the bare minimum of activism, but the social platform becomes a huge breeding ground for what is and isn't politically correct when discussing these terrorist attacks.
Though initial backlash focused on the Lebanon attacks, "All Flags" has broadened the support to every country victimized by ISIS. That way no one can be offended about someone else's Facebook profile picture.
Here's what the site says:
Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Cameroon, Bahrain, Russia, France, Egypt, Algeria, Afghan, Libya, Chad, Kenya. The country list is based on our research. We are not experts, so please help us complete the list. Contact us and we'll add them.
The sample photos used on the site is none other than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This is the site's homepage:
In addition to the French flag picture option, Facebook turned on a "Safety Check" feature. Again, critics of this action questioned why similar bombings and hostage situations in the Middle East had never received this treatment.
In response, Facebook's Vice President of Growth Alex Schultz posted a status saying this was the first time it had been activated for anything other than a natural disaster. "There has to be a first time for trying something new, even in complex and sensitive times," he explained. "And for us that was Paris."
It has not been made clear whether Facebook intends to change their flag-profile option for future tragic events. We've reached out and we'll let you know if we hear back.
