Facebook deactivates account of woman named Isis, then restores it

Following the horrific terror attacks in Paris last week, Facebook de-activated the account of a San Francisco-based engineer whose real name is Isis Anchalee. The de-activation, which was ultimately reversed, highlighted the ongoing battle the social network had with respect to users with real names that it nonetheless deemed to be fake.

According to Facebook's official policy, profile names need to represent an ''authentic identity; as your friends call you in real life'' and need to be verified with various identification forms.

Word of Anchalee's temporary removal from Facebook first emerged via Twitter earlier this week. Tweeting at Facebook directly, Anchalee explained Isis was in fact her real name.

Facebook researcher Omid Farivar, however, quickly assured Isis that the social network was working to correct the problem.

''Isis, sorry about this,'' Farivar said via a tweet. ''I don't know what happened. I've reported it to the right people and we're working on fixing it.''

In a follow-up tweet, shortly thereafter, Farivar apologised for the mess-up and relayed that the account was back up and running again.

It was not as though Isis Anchalee was an unknown entity on social media. Anchalee is the female engineer who started the #ILookLikeAnEngineer viral hashtag campaign  earlier this year aimed at countering bias and sexism in the tech field.

Facebook clarified in a statement sent to NBC News on Wednesday: "This was an error made as part of a fake account reporting process and we're sorry for the trouble it caused."