French Embassy ruthlessly mocks AP for saying labels like 'the French' are 'dehumanizing'

The French Embassy in the US has joined thousands ruthlessly mocking the Associated Press Stylebook for its suggestion that referring to 'the French' is 'dehumanizing.'

The tweet, which has since been taken down, had been viewed 23 million times, shared by 18,000 Twitter users and racked up more than 9,000 comments, according to the New York Post.

The tweet posted to the APStylebook Twitter read: 'We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing 'the' labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college educated.'

'Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.'

The French Embassy were quick to respond sharing an image suggesting they may have to change their name to the 'Embassy of Frenchness in the US' captioning the post 'I guess this is us now.'

The French Embassy in the US has ruthlessly joined thousands mocking the Associated Press Stylebook for its suggestion that referring to 'the French' is 'dehumanizing'

AP advertises its stylebook as a 'must have reference for writers, editors, students and professionals' and is used by most newspapers in the United States

Writer Sarah Haider also joined in to poke fun at the news organization tweeting: 'I agree with this. Nothing as dehumanizing as being considered one of the French.'

'Rather, such individuals should be thought of as 'suffering from Frenchness' and deserve our compassion and prayers,' she finished.

American comedian and political commentator, Jon Stewart, quipped: 'I believe the correct AP label is 'the/those f****** French.'

AP advertises its stylebook as a 'must have reference for writers, editors, students and professionals' and is used by most newspapers in the United States.

The book covers data journalism, business, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media and polls and surveys, plus a new chapter on inclusive storytelling. 

The tweet, which has since been taken down, had been viewed 23 million times, shared by 18,000 Twitter users and racked up more than 9,000 comments

 The French Embassy were quick to respond sharing an image suggesting they may have to change their name to the 'Embassy of Frenchness in the US' captioning the post 'I guess this is us now'

The style guide later apologized and has since taken the tweet down and wrote 'the use of 'the French' in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense,' according to the Post.

An updated tweet was later posted advising to avoid 'the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, the college educated' but this has also been removed after social media users continued their relentless jabs.

'Out: The Associated Press. In: Press Who Are Associating,' one person quipped.

Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle said: 'The people experiencing journalism at the AP have their work cut out for them.'

While, Nicholas Fondacaro, the Associate Editor for the Media Research Center, asked: 'Should we stop referring to 'the' AP Stylebook and refer to 'a stylebook experiencing stupidity?'

Communications consultant, Cristina Popa, meanwhile, picked up on one of the other terms still deemed 'dehumanizing.'

'The college-educated is offensive? Depending on the college, I might see your point.'

All tweets relating to the original post have since been taken down by APstylebook.

Earlier this month, the term 'field work' was banned by Michigan's Department of Health as well as the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California with some working in the field calling the move 'deadly.'

The move is meant to reflect 'anti-racist' values, but some have argued that it insults the intelligence of the people who it is addressing.