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Be careful what you (don't) tweet

Posted by Antoine LaFromboise on July 12, 2010 at July 12, 2010 8:52 AM

CNN fired a 20-year veteran of the network last week over a controversial tweet she posted, according to The New York Times.

Read the article for all the details, but the issue started with a tweet posted by the editor, Octavia Nasr:
Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah ... One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot.

Critics were quick to point out Ayatollah Fadlallah's writings and preachings inspired the Dawa Party of Iraq and a generation of militants, including the founders of Hezbollah.

CNN responded to the issuing saying the tweet did not meet CNN's editorial standards. Nasr said people were misinterpreting her tweet.

Her explanation:
"I used the words "respect" and "sad" because to me, as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman's rights. ... This does not mean I respected him for what else he did or said. Far from it."

Either way, there were real world consequences that may be a direct result out of Twitter's 140-character limit.

The lesson? Be sure your tweet tells the whole story. And if it can't, be sure the tweet includes a link to a page that unpacks what a 140-character tweet cannot.

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