Simple Code To Test Palindrome

I have a simple code to test palindrome. I have the word "civic" and I got this code:

public String isPalindrome(String word) {
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(word);
String reversed = builder.reverse().toString();
String s = new String();
if(reversed.equalsIgnoreCase(word)){
s = "Word " + parameters + " evitative is a palindrome!";
}
return s;
}

to my surprise, the if() condition is false even though the word is a palindrome.