TradeMe has apologised after an Auckland Instagram user saw an ad for a supposed "perfect gift" this Christmas - Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.
According to The Spinoff the ad was up only for seven minutes before hastily being taken down.
It featured the name of the book, as well as the caption “Find the perfect gift and get them what they really want this Xmas!”
TradeMe director of brand, marketing and communications Sally Feinson apologised for the ad, saying that the book was not intentionally chosen but was an error made by the algorithm for Facebook dynamic ads.
"With these types of ads, our team creates a marketing template and listings are automatically pulled through ... while these ads are usually a good and relevant marketing tool, they don’t always get it right."
Feinson says TradeMe's policies are clear on books with Nazi or Holocaust-related material, that they can only be listed on the site if they provide historical context.
"We’ve spoken with our team and put measures in place to prevent this from happening again."
Last week KFC in Germany was forced to apologise after sending a push notification to app users encouraging them to celebrate Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht with fried chicken and cheese.
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