Justine Sacco Director of Communications Country: USA

1. Director of Communications Justine Sacco
2. An Unexpected Viral Tweet
3. Biography of Justine Sacco

Director of Communications Justine Sacco

Justine Sacco is the Director of Communications at InterActive Corp, a position that she gained notoriety for due to a racist tweet on her personal Twitter account. The now-deleted tweet read, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding, I'm white!" While racist and nationalist tweets are not uncommon on Twitter, Sacco's joke quickly became one of the most popular tweets on the platform within just a few hours.

An Unexpected Viral Tweet

What is particularly interesting about this story is that Sacco composed the tweet while boarding a plane and was unable to access the internet for several hours. However, during that time, her tweet appeared on several popular news websites, and the number of followers on her blog increased significantly. The racist joke even inspired its own hashtag, #HasJustineLandedYet. As a result, InterActive Corp, the company Sacco worked for, made the decision to terminate her employment.

Biography of Justine Sacco

Justine Sacco was born in South Africa but moved to the United States at a young age. Her father believed that she should grow up in a less tense environment, leading to their relocation. Throughout her career, Sacco had to move frequently due to her work in an international company. At the time of her infamous tweet, she held the position of Director of Communications at InterActive Corp, which provides support for websites such as Match.com, Dictionary.com, and Vimeo.

Interestingly, Sacco created her Twitter account shortly before the controversial tweet. Initially, only close friends, acquaintances, and colleagues from her company followed her. Shortly before her flight, Justine posted the tweet and then promptly turned off her phone following the pilot's instructions. However, once her plane took off, the tweet started appearing on other pages, even ending up on the official account of one of the largest comedy resources.

Upon her arrival in South Africa, Sacco was met by a group of angered Africans holding signs, having learned about her final destination and arrival time from her previous tweets. To add to her embarrassment, her father, upon hearing about his daughter's racist remark, called her "stupid" right at the airport and expressed his disappointment in her limited and ignorant mindset.

When Sacco arrived, she also discovered that the company's board of directors had decided to terminate her employment. Her tweet violated the company's policies and offended users who had been loyal to the company for many years.

The final blow to this comical, yet unpleasant, story came from Gogo, the largest in-flight internet provider. They addressed Sacco directly, advising her to use their services the next time she felt the urge to write something foolish before a flight.