Justine Sacco, a former PR executive at a powerful technology company, sparked a firestorm of controversy after posting a joke on Twitter about AIDS in Africa on Friday. Sacco’s employer, media company IAC, fired her on Saturday.

Sacco’s tweet, sent before she boarded a flight for Cape Town, read: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” By the time she arrived in South Africa, the tweet had gone viral.

Here are three lessons to take away from Sacco’s Twitter debacle:

Finally, remind your employees that AIDS jokes with a racist garnish are pretty much never funny. #eyeroll #facepalm.

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Related Resources:

  • Fired PR executive apologizes for AIDS in Africa tweet (Reuters)
  • 10 Ways to Ruin Your Twitter Reputation (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise)
  • NYU Boss Called African Man a ‘Gorilla,’ ‘Monkey’ (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise)
  • Can ‘Social Media Insurance’ Protect Your Business? (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise)

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