This Week in Bad PR: How to Lose Your Job in 140 Characters or Less

It's been all over the news since yesterday, Justine Sacco, the director of corporate communications for web media giant IAC, tweeted a racist tweet. For those who don't know, IAC owns some pretty big websites including OkCupid, College Humor, Urbanspoon, Dictionary.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, About.com, Ask.com, The Daily Beast, and Vimeo just to name a few. Yes, the PR head for the company that owns BlackPeopleMeet.com is letting her racist flag fly.

Part of me is rather shocked that someone who's a PR professional could make such a huge slip. If you go out and tarnish your own reputation, you also take your employer down, too. As a somebody the same age as me, who has likely received a comprehensive HIV/AIDS education in school, she should know very well that white people can get AIDS. I'm also certain that there are white people in her destination of South Africa who have AIDS.

On a more sober note, thanks to DoSomething.org, here are a few facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa. 69 percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. When it comes to children who are HIV+, 91 percent of those children are in Africa. 71 Percent of HIV/AIDS related deaths in 2011 happened in Africa. 59 percent of HIV+ people in Africa are women. The Do Something article has some other interesting facts related to AIDS in Africa. This is a disease holding a whole continent back because of how many people are too sick to go about the daily life many of us take for granted. There are more people in Africa with AIDS than there are drugs in Africa to treat AIDS. I'm sure some of those people in Africa who are infected are white, too.

As expected, Sacco was fired and her twitter account was shut down. I'm sure it will be difficult to find another employer. Unfortunately in finding articles on her online work history, her racist tweet was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. She's done everything from express disgust at dreaming about sex with somebody with autism, to body shaming, to poking fun at starving Jewish people.

So #hasjustinelandedyet?

On the plus side, people have been donating to AIDS charities. Aid for Africa is receiving record donations.