'No Make-Up Selfie' Campaign Supporters Mistakenly Donated to Unicef, Adopted a WWF Polar Bear

Thousands of women who supported #nomakeupselfie awareness campaign for breast cancer had ended up donating their money to Unicef and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) instead of Cancer Research UK.

While some women posted pictures of themselves with no make-up on in support of the campaign donated to Unicef by mistake, others had wrongly misunderstood it and instead expressed an interest in adopting a polar bear.

The viral social media campaign has raised over 8 million pounds for Cancer Research UK. But according to a BBC report, 20,000 of the donations had been accidentally sent to Unicef when they texted "Donate" rather than "Beat."

Others had expressed their interest to adopt a polar bear when their phones autocorrected the text command "Beat" to "Bear." No donation was sent to WWF since charity policy requires it to call people back to discuss the possible adoption of wildlife.

People who donated their money in what they thought was for cancer research became concerned when they received a text message in response, "Thank you for choosing an adorable polar bear. We will call you today to set up an adoption."

Unicef said the donations meant for Cancer Research UK will be returned in full. Both organizations are working closely to recover the donations meant for cancer research.

The aim of the "no make-up selfie" is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. The viral breast cancer campaign has raised $25,000 in New Zealand after becoming a craze several days ago.

Despite its noble intentions of raising funds for cancer research, the "no make-up selfie" breast awareness campaign in UK was being criticized by several feminists.

Critics of the campaign are concerned that the pictures of women with no make-up on will only reinforce sexism and lower the value of women. Others have disputed this notion for its irrelevance and lack of grounds.

The origin of the #nomakeupselfie is yet to be known. But it was Cancer Research UK who used the concept and turned it to a breast cancer awareness campaign to raise donations.