An Australian politician has apologized for liking an illicit picture of a teenage boy on Facebook. In the picture, the boy was partaking in the time-honored Australian tradition of "sneaky nuts," whereby he was furtively exposing his genitals.

"At first glance it appeared to be a harmless picture," Peter Collier, Western Australia's minister for education, said in a statement.

But then when everyone looked closer at what they thought was a harmless photo of a 16-year-old and an older man, there it was! Sneaky nuts.

"It was a silly mistake on my part. I only became aware of the actual content of the photo when shown by a journalist today," Collier said. "This obviously highlights the pitfalls of social media. I apologise if I caused any offence."

The "liking" of the genital photo went unnoticed until last month, when the teenager began bragging about it on Twitter.

The stunt was popularized by Australia's actually funny comedian Chris Lilley (Summer Heights High), and has become a global sensation. Last year in Canada, a school had to place stickers in 1,300 yearbooks over a photo where a student had exposed themselves.