The Falkland Islands newspaper the Penguin News has triggered uproar on Argentinian social networks by calling President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a bitch.

The newspaper's website uploaded a photo of Fernández briefly using the insult as a file name on Wednesday, a day after she accused Britain of militarising the south Atlantic islands.

The word triggered an immediate avalanche of complaints and abuse from Argentinians, reflecting heightened sensitivity towards the archipelago in the runup to the 30th anniversary of the war with Britain.

The Buenos Aires daily La Nacion said the word, "perra" in Spanish, was a strong "anglo-saxon term ... signifying disrespect". Within hours more than 2,000 readers responded with comments, many vitriolic.

The Penguin News, which is printed weekly and online updated daily, usually has a tiny readership – the islands have a population of 3,000 – but the escalating diplomatic row between London and Buenos Aires has in recent weeks attracted many readers in Argentina, which calls the islands Las Malvinas and asserts ownership.

To illustrate a story about Fernández's speech on Tuesday it uploaded a photograph of the president with the offending word. Those who saved the image found that the default file name was "bitch".

Challenged by an Argentinian on her Twitter feed the editor, Lisa Watson, replied: "emmm oops – not now you'll find." The word was removed. Watson referred to colleagues' "dry humour". By then however the page had been saved and posted on multiple websites, prompting online fury.

The editor's Twitter feed reflected angry and often vicious hate messages. Penguin staff did not reply to emails or phone calls last night but last week, before the controversy, Watson told the Guardian she had been receiving abusive messages for weeks.

"I receive threats and insults via our work email address and on Twitter. The threats I try not to take seriously, particularly as the individuals tend to sign their name and even offer 'besos' (kisses) after claiming they are coming to the Falklands and their first task will be to kill me. Mainly I am referred to as a prostitute, liar, thief and pirate, other words I really wouldn't like to mention."

She did not keep such emails, she said. "I read and delete immediately because it's not something you want to keep as a souvenir, but one said 'Die you decadence whore', others say things like 'I am coming to the Malvinas so walk softly because I will find you.'"

She did not take them seriously. "I assume it is simply people momentarily angry because they have read something in their newspaper about the islands – I suppose we all feel like that sometimes but threatening to kill me seems a little extreme."

Watson said she was more upset about random calls to islanders. "It's intimidating to be woken in the night to someone shouting at you in Spanish."

Nevertheless she said it was important to have dialogue. "I have no objection to chatting and debating with Argentines. My reason for doing so is in the hope they will see us as a people with our own culture and our own thoughts. I live in hope that they will understand we are not 'British imperialists' but a population that has struggled to develop this little country and deserve to be allowed to live in peace.

"I should say that I also receive many messages of support from Argentines or messages from people who do not agree with my point of view but want to offer kind thoughts anyway."