Alba party officials have been left red-faced after the Scottish version of its domain name was hijacked within hours of Alex Salmond firing the starting gun on its Holyrood election bid.
While the official Albaparty.org adress has been promoted as the party's website, the version using a '.Scot' domain has been commandeered on behalf of another party.
Searching for Albaparty.scot will take internet users directly to the website of the SNP - SNP.org.
So far, no-one has owned up to the prank.
READ MORE: Salmond launches rival party to SNP for Holyrood election
The .Scot domain was launched in 2014 and was adopted by the Scottish Government a year later.
The Scottish Parliament moved from scottish.parliament.uk to parliament.scot in May 2016, to coincide with the 2016 elections.
While dramatic on a political front, the launch of the party has been marred by technical glitches.
During the televised press conference Alex Salmond was left staring at the camera when a video broke down, while attempting to access the party's online press pack has led some to a dead link.
Oh ffs the Alba launch is such a technical balls up it’s unbearable to watch. Surely Russia Today could have lent them some decent kit...
— NeilMackay (@NeilMackay) March 26, 2021
The reaction on social media was also muted, with some taking to Twitter with Alba Party-style memes, while Mr Salmond's attempt at the Gaelic pronunciation of 'Alba' was roundly mocked.
— Paul Anderson 🖖 (@acereject) March 26, 2021
Why can't any of them pronounce Alba properly? I'll put a song up for them later......
— Pete Wishart (@PeteWishart) March 26, 2021
The Scottish Greens party leader Patrick Harvie was also non-plussed at Mr Salmond's return to politics, simply Tweeting a gif from the Alan Partridge programme.
READ MORE: What is the Alba Party and who are its candidates?
— Patrick Harvie 🇪🇺🌈 (@patrickharvie) March 26, 2021
The Alba Party was founded in January and is seeking to create an independence-minded 'supermajority at Holyrood.
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