Facebook has apologised for accidentally declaring the Philippines was in a state of war, in what was meant to be an innocuous flag tribute for Independence Day. The social media giant greeted Filipinos a "Happy Independence Day" on Sunday with a post showing a Philippine flag, but it was upside-down with red rather than blue at the top.

In the Philippines this officially means the nation is at war.

Facebook, which routinely comes out with greetings to mark holidays around the world, apologised for the blunder. "This was unintentional, and we're sorry. We care deeply about the community in the Philippines and in an attempt to connect people on Independence Day, we made a mistake," Facebook said in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday. The blunder was greeted with a mix of anger and humour in the social media-obsessed country.