Q&A, you’re not alone: Here are some of history’s biggest Twitter mistakes

THE ABC has been forced to defend “offensive” tweets that aired during an episode of Q&A, but it is definitely not alone. Here are some of the worst social media mistakes in history.

PR exec Justine Sacco sparked outrage with this tweet sent before a 12-hour flight. She was sacked upon landing.

THE ABC has been forced to defend tweets that aired during Monday night’s Q&A episode, but it is definitely not alone. Twitter mistakes are frequent, and often very public.

Many viewers felt the comments aired during Monday night’s show were insensitive towards the transgender community, and although the people who sent those tweets were not public figures, the public backlash was swift.

One of the tweets aired.

But the incident is yet another example of the firestorm that can come from a seemingly innocuous exercise in self-expression, as several companies and people in the public eye have had to learn the hard way.

In a very recent example of the microblogging site’s power, entertainer Chris Brown was forced to admit that he should keep certain opinions to himself after receiving spirited backlash for his tweets hypothesising that Ebola was a form of population control.

Chris Brown’s controversial tweet.

And just a few months ago, radio host Anthony Cumia, from the hugely popular US show Opie and Anthony, was fired after posting tweets that were seen to be racist following a physical attack on him by an African-American woman.

“The c*** animal kept walking into my arm I had up as a block saying ‘DON’T TOUCH ME!’ Then would hit me. I hope a home boy beats her to death,” he wrote.

His Twitter profile now reads “Exiled radio host. Formerly of The O&A Show.”

Greg "Opie" Hughes, left, and Anthony Cumia, when they were co-hosts of the "Opie and Anthony Show."

Even companies with countless dollars to spend on PR are susceptible to the pitfalls of social media.

Microsoft suffered a fevered backlash for an insensitive tweet the day after the death of Amy Winehouse, which encouraged followers to download her albums. Microsoft’s misplaced effort to honour Winehouse — or to capitalise on the death of a celebrity to drive sales of online music — drew condemnation, and the company was forced to apologise.

AMY WINEHOUSE: THE DAY SHE CAME TO DINGLE

US Airways was forced to apologise in April after posting an explicit photo of a woman, who was in an interesting position with a toy plane. While the tweet was clearly an accident, it remained online for an hour. At the time, a spokesperson for US Airways explained that the photo was posted “in an attempt to flag the tweet as inappropriate.”

The tweet from US Airways, which sparked a Twitter frenzy.

And who doesn’t remember Justine Sacco, the PR exec who tweeted, “Going to Africa, hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” and was fired 12 hours later?

Justine Sacco was sacked after her inappropriate tweet.

Cricket Australia has also dealt with its fair share of twitter fires. Last year it issued an apology after calling a decision to give English batsman Ian Bell not out during a Test match “Bull**it.” It was also criticised for racial insensitivity after posting this attempt at a joke about opposing spinner Monty Panesar on the opening morning of the second Ashes Test:

Cricket Australia followed up this tweet with: “We apologise for any offence caused with our previous tweet. That was certainly not the intention. It has been removed.”

English spinner Monty Panesar (left).

Swimming sensation and Olympian Stephanie Rice also landed herself in hot water after a brain snap that led her to tweeting, “Suck on that f*****ts” after the Wallabies’ two point win over the Springboks. Rice was dating Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper at the time, and in a formal statement, said she posted the comment in the excitement of the moment. However, her retraction did little to quell the backlash.

Stephanie Rice in tears, apologising for the tweet at a press conference.

Those “in the know” are far from exempt either. Journalism lecturer Martin Hirst, from Melbourne’s Deakin University, was suspended earlier this year after Andrew Bolt drew attention to a number of belligerent tweets he made about everything from masturbation to “Fatty O’Barrell”.

In August, veteran journalist Mike Carlton played out something approaching a Shakespearean drama on Twitter before resigning from Fairfax. Carlton had been attacked for a column in which he criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza. He responded to a number of his detractors, calling one a “Jewish bigot” and telling several others to “f*** off.”

Several of Mr Carlton’s more aggressive tweets.

Social media has given us an unprecedented ability to connect, but we should all think twice before clicking send, post, publish or share.