Sign Language Interpreter at Nelson Mandela Memorial Denounced As 'A Fake' (VIDEO)

In a move far more bizarre than President Barack Obama's arguably overblown selfie snap, Nelson Mandela memorial service organizers apparently featured a nonsensical sign language interpreter at the event on Tuesday.

Hundreds of deaf people around the world sounded off on social media to object to the "fake" interpreter, and several deaf groups have stated that the man's gestures did not reflect what was being said, NBC News reported.

"We are shocked by the quality of sign language interpretation at Nelson Mandela's memorial--if it could be called interpretation at all," said Paul Breckell, chief executive of the U.K.-based charity Action on Hearing Loss.

Breckell went on to say that "the limited number of signs, the amount of repetition, lack of facial expressions and huge gaps in translation meant that deaf or hard of hearing people across the world were completely excluded from one of the biggest events in recent history."

Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the first deaf woman to be elected to the South African parliament, was among the first to call out the fake interpreter.

Taking her indignation to Twitter, Newhoudt-Druchen wrote that the man, who stood next to Obama and other world leaders as they spoke, was signing "rubbish," adding: "He cannot sign. Please get him off."

David Buxton, chief executive of the British Deaf Association, said in an email that "the gentleman is a total fake."

The man has reportedly worked at African National Congress events before, according to TIME. While his signing proficiency has apparently been questioned in the past, experts are now completely denouncing him.

"He has no real clue about sign language and has obviously upset the deaf community of South Africa as we have received hundreds of angry messages via Facebook and Twitter," Buxton said.

According to the NBC News report, the South African government said in a statement that it was "looking into this matter but has not been able to conclude this inquiry due to the demanding schedule" organizing the state funeral.