Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes; Guardian, 8/23/16

Elena Cresci, Guardian; Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes:

"Cincinnati zoo has deactivated its social accounts after it asked the public to stop making memes about Harambe the gorilla.

The animal was shot dead this year after a three-year-old child climbed into his enclosure. Since then, Harambe has turned into a source of humorous content online.

Jokes about his memory have spread on all corners of the internet – including the mentions of Cincinnati’s zoo official social media accounts."

Two marines under investigation for alleged threat against gay bars; Guardian, 6/17/16

Sam Levin, Guardian; Two marines under investigation for alleged threat against gay bars:

"Two active-duty US marine corps members are under investigation for a social media post showing a man in uniform with a rifle and the caption “Coming to a gay bar near you!” – an apparent reference to the mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub that killed 49 people.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is investigating the man in the photo, which was shared on Snapchat, along with another active-duty marine, who reposted the image with the message “Too soon?”, according to spokeswoman Major Staci Reidinger...

The photo was reportedly posted on a private Facebook group, called Camp MENdleton resale, which describes itself as a “group for male Marines, Corpsman, and other active duty, reserve, retired, and veteran service members”...

“Orlando was long overdue,” read the message, which was posted on a San Diego Craigslist page, according to local station KGTV. “Those people were walking diseases, bug chasers, and thank god for AIDS and 9-11 and now Orlando. San Diego you are next.”

A pastor in northern California also faced intense backlash this week after he delivered a virulently anti-LGBT sermon, saying Orlando is “a little safer tonight” and “the tragedy is that more of them didn’t die”."

Anchor Wendy Bell addresses WTAE firing over Facebook posts; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/30/16

Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Anchor Wendy Bell addresses WTAE firing over Facebook posts:

"Asked to weigh in on the firing, a journalism ethics expert said freedom of speech is a tricky thing when practiced by those who must adhere to the facts.

“Journalists always — and I don’t use ‘always’ all the time — must be careful about what they write or say because the audience, the readers and the viewers, are depending on them to provide information that they can trust, to be as fair and impartial as possible,” said Aly Colon, a professor of media ethics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and a former director of standards and practices at NBC News.

Ms. Bell crossed a line when she stated opinion as fact regarding an ongoing news story, he said. Those who write and report the news “have a special responsibility to serve their audience in a way that helps them see what is true, what is accurate and, also very important, authentic.”"

Pittsburgh TV station ‘ends relationship’ with anchor after racially-tinged Facebook post; Washington Post, 3/31/16

Yanan Wang, Washington Post; Pittsburgh TV station ‘ends relationship’ with anchor after racially-tinged Facebook post:

"The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Hearst Television, the parent station of WTAE-TV, said in a statement Wednesday that it had “ended its relationship” with Emmy-winning anchor Wendy Bell because her “recent comments on a WTAE Facebook page were inconsistent with the company’s ethics and journalistic standards.”"

When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet; NPR, All Tech Considered, 3/29/16

[Podcast, 6 min. 27 sec.] Sarah Hepola, NPR, All Tech Considered; When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet:

"For years, I've complained about the random hatred of the Internet. It was the worst part of writing online: Show up with your heart in your hand, and a bunch of strangers line up to throw rocks in your face. I was so freaked out by comments on my own stories that I had once considered not writing at all anymore. I badly wanted a thicker skin, but I also knew I had become a writer because I was thin-skinned. I took on other people's discomfort, and I flinched at the tiniest finger flick of rejection. I was a sensitive person — but I had just done a very insensitive thing.

I would never have said this to his face. But technology is such a bait and switch, giving you the feel of anonymity at the very moment your words have the farthest reach. And my comment was exactly the kind of random stone-throwing that had wounded me over the years".