US Airways apologizes for tweeting "inappropriate image"
In what may be the social media SNAFU of the year, US Airways is apologizing for accidentally tweeting a photo of a woman's private parts to its 23,000 followers.
According to Deadspin, the tweet -- which has now been deleted -- was a response to a customer complaint on Twitter. A staffer running the social media account responded and included a link to a customer relation's feedback page. But a link to an explicit photo was sent out, instead of a link to the company's website. The same link was sent out to a second traveler.
"We apologize for an inappropriate image recently shared as a link in one of our responses. We've removed the tweet and are investigating."
A spokesperson for US Airways declined to comment on the incident, and did not specify if the company would release further details.
This isn't the first social media misstep to make headlines.
Recently, actor James Franco was scrutinized for unknowingly hitting on an underage girl on Instagram. Franco apologized and said he was embarrassed by his mistake.
In December, former IAC public relations director Justine Sacco lost her job after tweeting, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!" Sacco later expressed remorse for her comments, but did not get her job back.
The food and recipe website Epicurious got into hot water after the Boston marathon bombing when it tweeted, "In honor of Boston and New England, may we suggest: whole-grain cranberry scones!" The company apologized for the tweet soon after.
During the 2012 presidential elections, a staffer at KitchenAid posted an offensive tweet about President Obama's grandmother from the company's official account. The iconic home appliance company issued an apology immediately.
Clothing designer Kenneth Cole came under fire for tweeting a promotion for shoes during riots in Egypt. At the time, Cairo was a trending keyword on Twitter.
