After a Twitter post that has been deemed by many as "profane" and "inappropriate", New York Times staffer Philip Richardson was reprimanded by the public, and most likely by superiors, for a social media post that sent an F-bomb to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.
This recent social media incident is the second strike for New York Times in three weeks, with the first one involving Times metro reporter Alan Feuer and his sexual taunt directed towards a New York Post veteran writer, which also happened on Twitter.
New York Post wrote an article on the inappropriate Tweet made last September detailing how the two reporters' feud played out. Apparently, what started as good-natured chiming ended up as a social media duel.
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush doesn't appear to have any comments on the Twitter incident and continues to focus on his campaign, with his latest Tweetwelcoming a new member to his National Hispanic Leadership Team.
According to CNN Money, a spokeswoman for New York Times shared how the latest Twitter incident was made by "a news assistant on The Times's clerical staff, assigned to the photo desk" and mentions how Richardson "is not a reporter or editor and is not involved in political coverage."
She goes on to add, "Nevertheless, tweets like this are inappropriate" and that "managers will take the necessary steps to deal with the situation."
Although it's anyone's guess what those steps will involve, it's likely that management will keep a closer eye on social media postings made by their staff to avoid a third Twitter indiscretion this year.
With the rise of social media platforms, it appears that active users are also at risk of losing their jobs and credibility due to the careless use of sites like Facebook and Twitter.
There have been numerous cases of people being reprimanded, fired, and even banned due to posts that were deemed inappropriate and insulting by employers (and even by unrelated people). It helps to remember that when it comes to social media, someone is always looking.
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