A feel-good Twitter request by the New York Police Department asking for pictures of people posing with officers quickly turned ugly when hundreds instead posted shots of baton-wielding cops battling protesters and taking down suspects. Other recent examples of Twitter gaffes:
- JP MORGAN CHASE: Fresh off a multibillion-dollar settlement stemming from the financial crisis, the investment giant launched the hashtag #AskJPM for people to ask career advice questions. Among the unanticipated responses: “Did you have a specific number of people’s lives you needed to ruin before you considered your business model a success?” and “Did you always want to be part of a vast, corrupt criminal enterprise or did you ’break bad’?”
- McDONALD’S: The fast-food chain in 2012 launched the Twitter hashtag #McDStories to draw attention to its food suppliers. Many used it instead to bash the quality of McDonald’s food. Among the tweets: “I walked into a McDonald’s and could smell the Type II diabetes.”
- AT&T: Twitter users pounced last Sept. 11 when the company tweeted an image of the Tribute in Light memorial at ground zero as seen through a smartphone, with the tagline “Never Forget.” They criticized the message as “ridiculously insulting” and a “terrible mistake.”
- KENNETH COLE: The designer drew criticism in September for this tweet about Syria: “Boots on the ground or not, let’s not forget about sandals, pumps and loafers.” Cole previously was criticized for tweeting about riots in Egypt: “Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.”
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