In 2013, Justine Sacco, a communications executive with the media company IAC, sent a sarcastic tweet to her 170 Twitter followers just before boarding a plane for Africa. The tweet dripped with racial animosity — “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” During her 11-hour flight to Cape Town, the tweet spread like wildfire from her tiny band of Twitter followers until she became the number one worldwide trend on Twitter. Hundreds called for her firing. Thousands labeled her as a hate-mongering racist. She had no idea that during her 11-hour flight when her phone was off, she became an Internet sensation. When she landed, she lost her job. She couldn’t find work for months, all because of a tweet with 12 slanderous words. As we study gossip and slander, we will examine how gossip spreads and the damage it can cause.
