Colombians want the world to stop misspelling their country’s name. It’s Colombia, NOT Columbia

Colombians have a message for the world: Stop misspelling our country's name. Seriously, it's not that hard.

It's Colombia, NOT Columbia.

The simple reminder has grown into a global campaign. Sure, it's just one pesky vowel, but, in this case, the difference between an "o" and a "u" is the difference between respect and disrespect.

Carlos Pardo, a digital media executive, came up with the idea last year. He never imagined it would blow up into a digital social movement that's now using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and everything else in order to politely – but firmly – correct misspellings.

"We're not trying to insult the people or companies that make this mistake," Mr. Pardo said. "We don't say 'Hey, idiot, fix it!' We just say 'Dear so-and-so, it's Colombia, not Columbia.'"

When companies or public figures make the error, campaigners take screengrabs and post them to social media.

There have been a lot of offenders.

Some offenders are people you don't really expect to know better…

Like Justin Bieber:

And Ozzy Osbourne:

But there are plenty of offenders who should really, really know better.

Like Starbucks:

Well, that was probably a one-time kind of deal – oh no…

Then there's sports.

The NBA blew it:

So did ESPN:

Twice:

Okay, so maybe we can forgive ESPN and Starbucks. How about news outlets? Eek.

NBC:

CBS:

BBC:

CNN:

And last, but not least in the really-should-know-better column: The Economist.