Ukrainian Media Mistakes Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon for Its Flag

While covering Pope Francis’s trip to Mexico in mid-February, the Ukrainian press reported on a “touching photo of the Pontiff with a Ukrainian flag,” awkwardly confusing the nation's blue and yellow bicolor with the Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon, worn in support of those affected by the disease.

“A photo of Pope Francis embracing two women with Ukrainian flag has become a hit among the internet users all over the world,” reported most of the Ukrainian media, including Ukraine Today, Vesti-ukr.com and Unian.net.

Ukrainian media awkwardly confuse the nation's blue and yellow bicolor with a Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon.

© Photo : Screenshot/uatoday

The comments came following the release of an image which the Pontiff posted on Instagram, featuring him embracing two women carrying blue and yellow ribbons.

Tenderness: a word almost forgotten and one which the world today needs, all of us need! Ternura: palabra casi olvidada y de la que hoy el mundo —todos nosotros— tenemos necesidad! Ternura: palavra quase esquecida e de que o mundo atual, todos nós temos necessidade! Tenerezza: parola quasi dimenticata e di cui il mondo di oggi – tutti noi – abbiamo bisogno! Tendresse: mot presqu’oublié et dont le monde d’aujourd’hui – nous tous – nous avons besoin! Zärtlichkeit: ein fast vergessenes Wert – und die Welt von heute, wir alle, brauchen sie! #Tenerezza, #Ternura, #Zärtlichkeit, #Tendresse, #Tenderness, #Misericordia, #Misericórdia, #Barmherzigkeit, #Miséricorde, #Mercy, #Cattolico, #Católico, #Katholik, #Catholique, #catholic

Фото опубликовано Pope Francis (@franciscus) Апр 5 2016 в 1:57 PDT

“Tenderness: a word almost forgotten and one which the world today needs, all of us need!” reads the comment to the photo.

What most of the Ukrainian outlets mistakenly took for the nation’s bicolor was, in fact, the Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon, worn in support of those affected by the disease.

Ukrainian media awkwardly confuse the nation's blue and yellow bicolor with a Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon.

© Photo : Screenshot/unian.net

Both of the women the Pope held in his arms have Down's Syndrome.

Most Ukraine-based media outlets that misreported the news have since unpublished their stories, although they can still be read on Google Cache.

Ukrainian media awkwardly confuse the nation's blue and yellow bicolor with a Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon.

© Photo : Screenshot/cache:vesti-ukr.com