Justine Sacco, the former senior director of corporate communications at media company, IAC, was fired for posting an insensitive joke on social media. Before departing to South Africa on December 20th 2013, she tweeted: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

This single action not only led to the termination of her appointment, but also made her a public object of ridicule. People misinterpreted her statement for racism and ignited a global trend of various hashtags (#) on twitter. These comments created a bad image of Justine and her company. It also posed a threat to her safety, as people began to track her activities beyond twitter.

The New York Times published an article with her story and others whose careers have been compromised as a result of social media reactions. All of those cited had attempted to crack a joke but ended up attracting backlashes and subsequently lost their jobs.

“How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life,” gives a full account of how social media can easily ruin your career.