Pentagon's Twitter account suspended for making fun/joke of Davao blasts
Pentagon's Twitter account suspended for making fun/joke of Davao blasts, bomb explosions
An "offensive and inappropriate" tweet regarding the bomb explosions inside the cinemas of two shopping malls in Davao City prompted Pentagon Press Secretary George Little to order a suspension of the @JIEDDO twitter account.
“Were they re-showing Gigli? Bomb explosions at 2 movie theaters in Philippines. The IED is a global threat,” the @JIEDDO tweeted on Wednesday. Spencer Ackerman, the U.S. national security editor for the U.K. based Guardian newspaper, immediately criticized the tweet as in poor taste(WSJ.com).
In a statement, the Pentagon Secretary said, “I just directed the suspension of the @JIEDDO twitter account following inappropriate and offensive tweets.” Litte added that the joke was “plainly unacceptable.” After Mr. Little suspended the Twitter account, David Small, a spokesman of JIEDDO said the group violated its procedures for social media posts.
“I sincerely apologize to those who took offense at the distasteful comment,” Mr. Small said in an email. “Bottom line, there is nothing funny about an IED event.” Mr. Small, however, didn’t say if any individual had been suspended or reprimanded, but did say the organization is investigating the incident.
Pentagon's @JIEDDO twitter account is the US Department of Defense’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. This Pentagon command was formed during the Iraq war to find new ways of countering roadside bombs.
Meanwhile, Gigli is a widely criticized 2003 American romantic comedy film starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Lainie Kazan.-WSJ.com