Typos under social media surveillance

With increasing use of social media, the public communications disseminated by government authorities reach out to global readers. This means such communications have also come under unprecedented social media scrutiny. Social media users of Nepal have increasingly pinpointed typographical errors, generally referred to as typos, creeping into the public communications. Recently there have been several examples of negligence even on the part of academic institutions to live up to the writing standards and the objectives when it comes to typos. This article discusses consequences of some of the typos before summing up how typos in general also reflect the working environment in the public and academic offices, which is perceived to be getting laxer when it comes to compliance to writing contentions.

The typo littered communications most disapproved and made fun of by social media users quite recently are more than funny and embarrassing. A reader cannot help chuckling upon going through the public service advertisement (PSA) published in Nepali language in a newspaper against trafficking in persons. The PSA reads “trafficking in person is our duty and intent.” By the purpose of the PSA, the typo has a disastrous result. A public notice displayed in a Hindu temple premises reads “we are in underground of seesee camera” to inform the visitors that they are under CCTV surveillance. You cannot help laughing them off. Similarly, a statement issued by the Public Transportation Office apologizing for service interruption due to electricity mistypes with an embarrassing result. The word written to refer to “link” is mistyped as something that refers to phallus in Nepali language.