The airline says the tweet contained two pictures and was meant to congratulate the US after its win over Ghana in the World Cup.
One of the photos featured the two goals scored by the US along with a picture of the Statue of Liberty.
That was fine, but the other picture of a giraffe and Ghana’s one goal caused a firestorm.
The responses on twitter came quickly. "I remember when I was in Ghana riding my giraffe on the beach."
CNET points out giraffes don't live in Ghana causing many to say the tweet was at best uninformed, and at worst, racist.
Another remarked, “you can book flights to Accra, the capital of Ghana, on @delta’s website. Do not take those flights. They will end up in the Serengeti."
The airline has apologized but BuzzFeed points out even that was botched.
"We're sorry for our choice of photo in our precious tweet," it read.