Think before you tweet
Outrage over PR exec's AIDS tweet
December 22, 2013 -- Updated 1727 GMT (0127 HKT)
Trial by social media
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Dean Obeidallah: Unwise tweets have ruined careers, reputations
- Obeidallah: PR executive Justine Sacco was fired for her tweet about AIDS and Africa
- He offers 8 ways to help people avoid the pitfalls of tweeting before thinking
- Obeidallah: If you're still in doubt about a tweet, use the "FireMe!" app
Editor's note: Dean
Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent
commentator on various TV networks, including CNN. He is the co-director
of the new comedy documentary "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter @deanofcomedy. This article was originally published on December 5 and updated December 22.
(CNN) -- Who could've ever predicted that 140 characters could screw up so many people's lives?
But that's exactly what
has happened to politicians, executives, government staff and others
because of their comments on Twitter. This social media platform has
morphed from a fun place to an information hub to a career killer.
And astoundingly, even
people who work in PR -- you know, the folks who are supposed to advise
clients on how to avoid social media disasters -- can tweet out
statements that cause a media uproar. We saw that this weekend when
Justine Sacco -- who at that time was a PR executive -- tweeted shortly
before her 12-hour flight to South Africa on Friday: "Going to Africa.
Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"
Those 64 characters
tweeted by Sacco resulted in her now being known as "ex-PR executive."
Sacco was fired by IAC, the media company headed by Barry Diller, within
hours of landing in South Africa. The lesson here is clear: Just
because you say "Just kidding" or "LOL" after your statement doesn't
mean you won't get canned for your tweet. Sacco apologized Sunday:
"For being insensitive to this crisis -- which does not discriminate by
race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all
uniformly -- and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am
ashamed."
Dean Obeidallah
Of course, not every Twitter mistake ends a career. Some just result in embarrassment or an avalanche of mocking tweets.
For example, recently the
Republican National Committee tweeted: "
Today we remember Rosa Parks'
bold stand and her role in ending racism." The RNC's intent was to
commemorate the anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to move to the back of a segregated bus in 1955.
But instead, the tweet
set off a firestorm with people ridiculing the RNC for suggesting that
racism had ended in America. Consequently, the RNC was compelled to
tweet out a clarification.
The paradox of Twitter is
that it's really easy to use and it's just as easy to screw up. So in
an effort to help people avoid the pitfalls that have caught so many
others, here are some tips for you to keep in mind before you press
"send" on that next tweet.
1. Proofread your tweets
Sounds simple enough, right? But since we all tweet in a hurry, we often send out typos. One of the worst typos was made by White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who put out a tweet that accidentally included the N-word.
(He was trying to tweet the word "bigger.") Of course, he deleted that
tweet and apologized. But a quick proofread would've prevented this.
2. Racist tweets = unemployment
This should be a no-brainer, but then again so should proofreading tweets.
3. Nothing on Twitter stays anonymous forever
Okay, you're not an
idiot. You know enough not to badmouth your employer or co-workers on
your personal Twitter account. So you create a fake Twitter account.
Genius, right?! Well, just ask Jofi Joseph,
a former senior National Security Council staffer who did just that.
Joseph created an anonymous Twitter account and leveled criticism at
co-workers and even his superiors. He was discovered and fired.
Honestly, how can a guy who works with the NSC not realize that the NSC
could figure out who he was?!
4. You can't really delete tweets
Sure, there's a delete
button on Twitter, but once it's out there, simply put: You're screwed.
For example, earlier this year the spokesman for Rep. Raul Labrador
tweeted out on the congressman's official Twitter account: "Me likey
Broke Girls," in reference to the CBS show "2 Broke Girls." The
spokesman quickly deleted the tweet, but a short time later the
congressman deleted the spokesman from his staff.
5. You don't have to be famous to get fired for a tweet
Having a lower-level job
and only a few Twitter followers doesn't translate into immunity from
being canned for a tweet. That's the lesson a young guy who worked at a
food truck in New York City discovered the hard way. In his case, a big
group from a local company ordered food but didn't leave a tip. A few
minutes later the employee took to his personal Twitter account to mock
the people who had stiffed him and mentioned their company by name. How
many Twitter followers did he have? About 300. But two days later he was
fired for ridiculing customers.
6. Even jokes can get you fired
I'm a comedian, and I've been subjected to numerous attacks for my jokes on Twitter
-- usually from people who say they are offended that I mock their
conservative icons. That comes with the territory of being a comedian.
But there's a line that comedians can cross which will actually get you
fired. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried found out exactly where that line was
drawn after he tweeted a series of jokes seemingly mocking the victims
of the Japanese tsunami in 2011. Gottfried apologized, but that wasn't enough for insurance giant Aflac. He was fired from his gig as the voice of the Aflac duck.
7. Don't confuse sending a direct message with tweeting
This is an easy mistake
to make -- just ask former Rep. Anthony Weiner. Direct messages go to
one person and are private like an e-mail. Weiner's problem occurred
when he intended to send a photo of himself in his underwear via direct
message to one woman. Turns out he accidentally sent the photo to
everyone on Twitter. The rest is history.
8. If still in doubt about a tweet, try the "FireMe!" app
This app
will rate your tweet to give you a sense of whether you will be fired
for sending it out. While not foolproof, it can be helpful.
Hopefully, these eight suggestions will help you better navigate Twitter without losing your job.
Of course, there will
always be people who get fired for using Twitter inappropriately. But
the upside is that without a job, they will have more time to think
before they tweet. It's just too bad that they didn't do that earlier.
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