Twitter found itself in an embarrassing situation this week, for which it has now apologized. The social network posted an image of fake tweets on its blog to demonstrate users’ positive reactions to its new advertising opportunity, Amplify, according SFGate.

That might not have been such a big deal, except for one thing: the company used real Twitter users’ handles, profile pictures and all, to manufacture the fake tweets with zero approval from the unsuspecting Tweeters. Twitter showcased the tweets lauding the TV ads as an example of how brands can monitor consumer conversation about their broadcast spots.

“What is the song in the new @barristabar commercial I love it!!” said one of the examples, from user @Neil_Gottlieb.

“I wish I could make fancy lattes like in the @barristabar commercial,” read another, from@WilliamMazeo.

A third user, @subhash_tewari, was also used for a bogus quote.

Unsurprisingly, when SFGate contacted the users about their photos and handles being snagged to sell ads, Gottlieb and Mazeo weren’t pleased. In fact, Gottlieb is reportedly consulting an attorney.

Twitter’s official advertising account publicly apologized on Wednesday, but that doesn’t seem to be enough:

 

The blushed company has since removed the fake testimonials and put another apology at the top of its original blog post, reading:

“An earlier version of this blog post included an image with mock Tweets from real users of our platform. This was not OK. Once we became aware of this mistake we took it down immediately. We deeply apologize to the three users included in the earlier images.It’s unclear why those three users were selected to advertise the bogus tweets. None of them have particularly large followings or appear to be influential users. We’ve contacted Twitter for further explanation, and will update if we hear back.”

Source: SFGate