Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!

[HipChick]

Barry Diller's IAC has issued a statement saying that it is "taking appropriate action" after a comment posted on the Twitter account of its corporate communications officer incited ridicule on social media.

On Friday, the account of IAC's Justine Sacco sent the following tweet.

Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!

— Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) December 20, 2013

The tweet was deleted shortly before 7 a.m. Cape Town time (roughly the time her flight from London was scheduled to land), and her entire account was deleted shortly after. Sacco has also been removed from IAC's contacts page, where it formerly listed her as the contact for reporter inquiries.


Her tweet was subsequently picked up on Valleywag and widely circulated on Twitter. The IAC communications office issued a response, noting that Sacco was currently on a flight.

"This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC," a statement to THR read. "Unfortunately, the employee in question is unreachable on an international flight, but this is a very serious matter, and we are taking appropriate action."

IAC, a media company, houses digital brands that include The Daily Beast, About.com, Match.com and Ask.com. It also owns BlackPeopleMeet.com, a dating website catering to African Americans.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527330/Blonde-female-PR-executive-tweets-Going-Africa-Hope-I-dont-AIDS-Just-kidding-Im-white-causes-international-outrage-likely-fired.html

[Sheldon Cooper]

1. What would possess you to even think of such a thing, much less post it on Twitter?

How does a thought like that even enter your head?

[CJCRANE]

2. I'm guessing she's a Fox News fan. It's like a Fox News "joke":

bigoted and scientifically illiterate.

However, it's sad that she's ruined her career and her family's reputation. I hope she gets some help to see her through this difficult time and that the people in S Africa forgive her.

[Kahuna]

3. If anyone deserves to lose their job, it's this lady...

because she's just not good at it. Oy!

[HipChick]

4. It's sad..her father is a SA, who sent her to the States to be educated

against racism..He is worth 1.4B..she won't be hurting anytime soon

http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

[PowerToThePeople]

5. We have not heard from her yet.

I do not like to jump to conclusions. People have had accounts broken into. Best to wait till she can respond to the accusation before passing judgment.

That said, the statement is sick.

[HipChick]

6. We don't need to wait...her other posts were equally as offensive..sorry, I am not giving her a pass

I hate people using this excuse of accounts been broken..not in this case..she's been posting this stuff for over a year

but this time, Twitterville picked it up and retweeted before her plane landed..

[PowerToThePeople]

7. I was not offering it as an excuse

I did not read the posting history either. With information moving so fast these days, often times people are found guilty in the court of public opinion before the facts are even out.

[politichew]

8. That's why I like the court of public opinion.

It serves up justice a whole lot more quickly and efficiently than other so-called courts.