Facebook takes a lot of heat, deservedly, for not doing enough to protect user privacy. However, sometimes these serious issues can result in funny situations, like when the site screwed up this week by accidentally directing users to the Messenger account of a random user instead of the account for the HBO show Westworld.  

On Twitter, the Facebook Messenger account directed users to chat with a Westworld-themed bot at messenger.com/t/westworld. The only problem was the link actually took users to the account of a real woman named Lisa in Kentucky, who reserved the URL long before the hit HBO show was created. Lisa had a good sense of humor about the mistake, and said she’s never even seen the show.  

“I do not and I have never watched it,” she told a Mashable reporter. “My last name is West and we refer to our home as Westworld lol.”

For its part, Facebook quickly issued an apology. The last thing the company wants is another major privacy scandal, so it makes sense why it wanted to get in front of the problem by immediately admitting it was at fault.

“As soon as we became aware of the error, we immediately corrected it,” a spokesperson for the company said. “We’re very sorry for any trouble or confusion this caused.” 

Still, even though this is a humorous situation, it’s troubling that Facebook can make such a simple error that targets and affects just one user’s privacy.

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