Canadian Police Live Streams Press Briefing With Cat Filter, Apologises

British Columbia's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (BCRCMP) issued an apology after live streaming a press conference on Facebook with the cat filter turned on. A police officer, speaking to the press about a murder investigation, was shown with cat ears and whiskers, thanks to the blunder. According to the Daily Beast, Sergeant Janelle Shoihet was addressing a briefing on the double homicide on Friday when the filter was accidentally switched on.

A picture of the officer with feline features, shared on Twitter, has gone viral.

The B.C. RCMP are giving a press conference on the two people murdered on the Alaska Highway, and they have the cat ear filter on. pic.twitter.com/j8GvkvKA4u

— Tyler Dawson (@tylerrdawson) July 19, 2019

The mix-up left a lot of people baffled. However, police clarified that later that the use of the filter was a mistake. Responding to a user on Twitter, they wrote: "Yes we are aware and addressing it as it's an automatic setting. Thank you, we will rectify and issue a video shortly."

Yes we are aware and addressing it as it's an automatic setting. Thank you, we will rectify and issue a video shortly.

— BCRCMP (@BCRCMP) July 19, 2019

Sergeant Janelle Shoihet later re-recorded the press conference, minus the cat ears, and apologised for the "technical difficulties" first time around.

This is not the first time that the cat filter has ruined an otherwise somber occasion. Last month, Shoukat Yousufzai, a Pakistan minister, was shown with cat ears during a Facebook live stream. Pictures from the live stream quickly went viral online.