Journalist's offensive tweets about Manchester attack slammed by social media
On Monday, a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. Prime Minister Theresa May called what happened "appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenseless children."
One freelance journalist, David Leavitt, tweeted a "joke" about the attack soon after it broke:
Credit: Twitter
"MULTIPLE CONFIRMED FATALITIES at Manchester Arena," Leavitt said. "The last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too."
Leavitt later deleted the tweet upon people's requests, but he didn't stop there. He continued to tweet about the incident:
Negative reactions began pouring in. Some told Leavitt the joke and his later tweets were in poor taste due to the nature of the incident, and others discussed how his employers (Yahoo, CBS and AXS per his Twitter bio) would terminate him:
The line has been crossed. It's unforgivable to joke like this. An apology is still needed
— Gee (@GooRee) May 23, 2017
"Sorry for offending," Leavitt eventually said. "Didn't realize the magnitude of the tragedy. I always make stupid jokes about whatevers trending. Condolences to families."
Two of Leavitt's supposed employers, CBS and AXS, say that Leavitt does not work for them:
.@David_Leavitt does not work for @CBSNews.
— CBS News PR (@CBSNewsPress) May 23, 2017
