Brazil: Supreme Court apologizes for "inappropriate" Tweet

Yesterday Nir Rosen resigned from his position as a fellow at New York University (NYU) after posting several insensitive Tweets regarding a sexual assault against journalist Lara Logan. “This incident is a testament to social media's far-reaching influence and the increasing need for its users to take caution before posting,” said an editorial in today’s edition of NYU’s student paper. It is surely a lesson that Rosen has learned the hard way though he wasn’t the only public figure this week to commit a Twitter faux pas.

A message was published under the Brazilian Supreme Court's Twitter account calling for Senate president Jose Sarney to resign. “Listen up: now that Ronaldo’s retired, when will Sarney decide it’s time to hang up his boots?” said the message that was posted on Tuesday. (The Tweet refers to soccer star Ronaldo who retired on Monday).

The Tweet was subsequently deleted and an apology to Sarney was published on the Supreme Court’s website. The note said that an as of yet unidentified court employee wrote “inappropriate messages for which this court offers its deepest apologies." Additionally, it’s unknown if the worker was fired for his/her Tweet.

The eighty-year-old Sarney is a veteran of Brazilian politics including serving as president between 1985 and 1990. A 2009 The Economist article cheekily titled “Where dinosaurs still roam” blasted Sarney and his “semi-feudal politics.”

On a related and more light-hearted note, the Brazilian press highlighted today the trouble of one particular Twitter user:

American Sarah Law Wu, who goes by the nickname Sarney on Twitter and saw her page overrun by Brazilians who mistook her for the Senator, was amused by the mistake…


When the confusion began last week, she wrote: "People of Brazil, for the love of the dear baby Jesus, I am not Jose Sarney.”

Sarah earned the nickname of her aunt, who read stories about Gen. David Sarnoff.

Image- TechCrunch
Online Sources- Washington Square News, The Huffington Post, NPR, The Economist, Folha Online, Terra Brasil