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Case Analysis

Melissa Torres

California State University, Fullerton

COMM 310

March 15, 2022

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Facts

The case “How One Tweet Ruined a Life” follows the story of how a director suffered

severe consequences after taking what she shared on social media lightly. The director of

corporate communications at IAC, Justine Sacco, tweeted about her experiences while travelling

home from the holidays. Without considering how her tweets would affect others, Sacco wrote

some pretty hurtful things. One of tweets read, “Weird German Dude: You’re in First Class. It’s

2014. Get some deodorant. Thank God for pharmaceuticals.” Another read, “Going to Africa.

Hope I don’t get AIDS, Just kidding. I’m white!” These racist and insensitive remarks cause

Sacco to receive a lot of backlash.

Loyalties

The stakeholders of the situation would be Justine Sacco, the company she works for IAC

and the people from the countries that she insulted. Obviously, Sacco would be held accountable

for her actions, but it would also transfer onto other relationships in her life. IAC would also be

criticized, as people would question why they would hire someone who make such rude remarks.

The people from Germany and Africa would also be affected, as Sacco fed into the stereotypes

made about people from other countries. This would stir unkind feelings from people who

believe those stereotypes.

Values

The first ethical issue found in this case would be lack of integrity. As a PR specialist,

Sacco should’ve known her comments would offend a large audience. Those she offended will

most likely feel uncomfortable around her. The second ethical issue would be stereotyping.

Sacco fed into the stereotypes that people from other cultures carry qualities that are seen as
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unfavorable by society. For example, she assumed that everyone from Africa had AIDS and she

was unable to get it simply because she’s white.

There are two ethical theories that can be applied here. The first would be Ross’

Pluralistic Theory of Value. Sacco had the choice of choosing among competing duties before

and after sending her tweets. Unfortunately, she failed to fulfill one of the duties when writing

her tweets, which is the duty of not injuring others. Her words hurt a lot of people around the

world, especially those she specifically described and insulted. The second theory would be the

Rawls’ principle, the Veil of Ignorance. It states, “Treat everyone equally and justice will

prevail.” If Sacco had treated people that were different than her with respect and empathy, she

would have never received so much hate. 

Principles

There are a couple of courses of action that Sacco can follow; she can take accountability

for her actions, be cautious about what she puts on her social media in the future, or simply not

care what others think. If she takes accountability for what she did and apologize to those that

she offended, she would be able to show how regretful she is for saying such insults. This would

allow her to hopefully have a fresh start when looking for a new job, since she was fired from

IAC. Also, if Sacco becomes more cautious with the things she says, or tweets, she won’t have to

go through such stressful events again. Lastly, if Sacco decides that she wants to continue to

tweet whatever she wants and not care if she offends anyone, she would most likely receive a lot

of backlash again. The first two courses of action would probably be the most beneficial for her.