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.
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