Home > Life > Digital Culture

Tim Cook tweets congratulatory message to Australia but uses the wrong flag

Whoops.

Yvette Tan

on November 15, 2017

Tim Cook tweets congratulatory message to Australia but uses the wrong flag

Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANDREW GOMBERT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (9068100ak) Tim Cook Bloomberg Global Business Forum, New York, USA - 20 Sep 2017 Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the opening of the inaugural Bloomberg Global Business Forum at the Plaza Hotel in New York, New York, USA, 20 September 2017. The forum will feature more than 50 heads of state and 250 international CEOs as it is held on the sidelines of the ongoing nearby General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly. Credit: ANDREW GOMBERT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Looks like Tim Cook might have sent this tweet out a little too quickly.

The Apple CEO on Wednesday congratulated Australia on saying "yes" to same-sex marriage -- except he added an emoji of the flag of New Zealand.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The original tweet was quickly deleted and a new tweet sent out, this time, with the correct flag.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But the mistake had already been spotted by some on Twitter, and one guy pointed out how it's tough searching for emoji on Apple's keyboard:

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

To be fair, the Australian and New Zealand flag do look pretty similar.

Mashable Trend Report

Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means.

By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Thanks for signing up!

Both have Union Jacks on them, except the Australian flag features the Commonwealth Star. The stars are also of different colours.

Apple had earlier this year weighed in on Australia's same-sex marriage debate, saying that it supported "marriage equality and believe all Australians deserve the freedom to marry the person they love."

Apple has long been a supporter of marriage equality. In 2016, its logo joined the Australian Marriage Equality page, alongside other major companies like Google, Microsoft, Twitter and IBM.

Cook, who came out as gay in 2014, has lead the company's pro-equality message.

The then 53-year-old, who's famously private, said it was "worth the trade-off" of his privacy if it helps someone else.

"If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he said.

Topics Apple X/Twitter

Yvette Tan

Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.