Hasty Tweet Damages Ashton Kutcher's Following

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How about reading a little before jumping to conclusions? This is the lesson learned by Ashton Kutcher, who tweeted to his more than 8 million followers about the firing of Penn State Coach Joe Paterno:

Ashton K re Penn State

 Kutcher explains his response: 

"Last night after returning home from work, I walked by the television and simply saw a headline that Joe Paterno had been fired. Having no more information than that, I assumed that he had been fired due to poor performance as an aging coach."

He has since hired PR firm Katalyst to manage his Twitter feed, Kutcher says, "as a secondary editorial measure, to ensure the quality of its content." Sounds like a good idea.

Discussion Starters:

  • Should we expect more of someone with 8 million followers, or is it simply the nature of the medium (Twitter) that causes such misreports?
  • What are the potential consequences of Kutcher hiring a firm to manage his popular Twitter feed?