Article content

Canada’s largest public service union has apologized after part of its anti-Harper Internet campaign went viral in a way they didn’t intend.

On Wednesday, The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), launched www.Harper-says.ca, a website where users could recaption publicity photographs of Stephen Harper with their own words.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Public service union apologizes for 'childish, hateful messages' on spoof Stephen Harper photo caption website Back to video

The idea was that the new captions would criticize Harper’s policies in humorous ways and be shared on the Internet. However, it soon became clear that while there were a few pictures that fit into PSAC’s ideal, some of the posts were racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. Additionally, PSAC did not have the ability to moderate the pictures the way they wanted to.

This lead to a Thursday evening Twitter apology, and the removal of the site and the group’s national president accepting personal responsibility for the “gaffe.”

“#PSAC apologies for the Harper Says website that was published today,” PSAC’s feed tweeted. “The union has taken down the website Harper Says in its entirety pending a review of its moderation capacity.”

“The comments were contrary to PSAC policy and contravened values that Canadians hold dear,” the official feed continued. “The union has no desire to convey childish or hateful messages to the public, or its members.”