Since Twitter launched in 2006, you could argue that every year has been that of the terrible tweet. The medium has historically brought out the dumb in a lot of people, but 2014 offered some unique gems.
From the Taliban geotagging a tweet to a newspaper accidentally posting a photo of a butt plug, check out our list of the worst tweets of 2014.
1. Ted Cruz Calls Net Neutrality ‘Obamacare For The Internet’
In November, Obama came out in favor of net neutrality, urging the Federal Communications Commission to stop Internet providers from cutting faster service deals with sites like Netflix. Ted Cruz and his communications director took to Twitter to offer their unsurprising views on the issue.
“Net Neutrality” is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 10, 2014
Just wait. Pretty soon, Obama will tell you “If you like your Internet, you can keep it.” #DontNeutertheNet
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 10, 2014
2. Bill Kristol Tweet Sets Off Wave Of Identical Replies: ‘Delete Your Account’
Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol finally gave in and joined Twitter this fall. He told TPM via email that he was enjoying it. “What’s not to like?” he asked. Unfortunately, the Twittersphere wasn’t as into him. In the early days, users trolled Kristol, deliberately mistaking him for Billy Crystal. But it was a tweet linking to his magazine’s new podcast that inspired an onset of replies all with the same message: “Delete your account.”
3. Dinesh D’Souza Warns Of ‘OBOLA’ In Incomprehensible Tweet
Dinesh D’Souza , the conservative pundit and felon, didn’t miss the chance to weigh in on Ebola, amidst a heavy onset of Republican hysteria. The tweet — which attempted to coin the term “OBOLA” — linked to a Facebook post that showed a photo of the Ebola virus next to the President’s father.
Which is worse: EBOLA, the disease; or OBOLA, the dream from his father?(with illustration) https://t.co/zsWqu4KuqR
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) October 6, 2014
4. Donald Trump Loses It Over NYC Ebola Patient: Obama Must Resign!
Donald Trump deserves a lifetime achievement award in social media fails. It’s honestly hard to pick just one out of the deep sea of garbage tweets. But his alarmist ones on Ebola, in which he called for Obama’s resignation, were among some of his worst.
There is a good possibility that a person who treated patients in West Africa and who FLEW into New York has Ebola. Touched many, bedlam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2014
If this doctor, who so recklessly flew into New York from West Africa,has Ebola,then Obama should apologize to the American people & resign!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2014
Ebola has been confirmed in N.Y.C., with officials frantically trying to find all of the people and things he had contact with.Obama’s fault
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2014
I have been saying for weeks for President Obama to stop the flights from West Africa. So simple, but he refused. A TOTAL incompetent!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2014
I never thought I’d say it in my lifetime, but President Barack Hussein Obama, aka Barry Sotoro, is a far worse president than Jimmy Carter!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2014
President Obama, you are a complete and total disaster, but you have a chance to do something great and important: STOP THE FLIGHTS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2014
5. Boehner’s Blank GOP Jobs Plan Tweet Leads To Epic Trolling
Pressing publish too early on a social media post happens to the best of us. Boehner took this to a particularly hilarious degree when he tried to offer “5 Points for Resetting America’s Economic Foundation.” The problem was he forgot to fill it out, leading many to joke that his plan was no plan:
①
②
③
④
⑤
#5pts4jobs → http://t.co/DR9MAb4X5d
— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) October 7, 2014
Twitter users, of course, took the opportunity to fill out their own, and make fun of Boehner in the process. Here’s one:
MT @SpeakerBoehner:
① Shut down gov’t
② Sue POTUS
③ Sham Benghazi hearing
④ 50+ ACA repeal votes
⑤ Threaten another shutdown
#5pts4jobs
— Mo Elleithee (@MoElleithee) October 7, 2014
6. New England Patriots Apologize For Sending Out N-Word In Twitter Promo
The lesson here is never let a “filtering system” (whatever that is) tweet for you. In November, The New England Patriots became the first NFL team to reach 1 million followers. They decided to give thanks to their fans by tweeting pictures of a “custom digital jersey” with the user’s twitter handle on the back:
We’re saying thanks to @patriots‘ 1million followers w/ custom digital Pats jerseys – RT for yours! #1MillionPatriots pic.twitter.com/u2SfidCb9e
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 13, 2014
This didn’t work so well with one particularly offensive user name:
.@Patriots Twitter Thank You Includes N-Word, Jersey Mockup. Welp? http://t.co/25feZ0qTR0 pic.twitter.com/fvSDzD9Jk4
— Hilary Sargent (@lilsarg) November 14, 2014
The team then apologized and promised to be more “vigilant” in the future.
We apologize for the regrettable tweet that went out from our account. Our filtering system failed & we will be more vigilant in the future.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 14, 2014
7. Boston Globe Offers Brief Explanation For Chocolate Butt Plug Tweet
Um, the Boston Globe tweeted a photo of a chocolate butt plug this year. That’s right. In linking to a story on the memory-boosting effects of chocolate, they included a photo of artist Paul McCarthy’s “Butt Plug Gnome” sculpture.
An antioxidant in chocolate appears to improve some memory skills people lose with age http://t.co/p5l9Rwjrh8 pic.twitter.com/jCQhrfvXt5
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) October 27, 2014
Even better: they didn’t delete it. Instead, their editor’s digital advisor offered this explanation:
When we looked at this photo, all we saw was a chocolate elf and his tree. We’re a family newspaper! –> http://t.co/RQjoji6fDz cc @Gawker
— David Skok (@dskok) October 28, 2014
8. Think Tank Apologizes For Intern’s ‘Suck It’ Tweet To Amnesty International
“Blaming it on an intern” is a typical post-social-media-screw-up solution. When the Center for Strategic and International Studies tweeted at Amnesty International telling the group to “suck it,” that’s just what offending organization did.
Did this really just happen? pic.twitter.com/CkVEkrdoGH
— Allen McDuffee (@AllenMcDuffee) August 19, 2014
“Apparently he [the intern] meant to send something reflecting his personal views from his personal Twitter account,” said Andrew Schwartz, senior vice president for external relations at CSIS.
Our sincerest apologies to @Amnesty & our followers. Our last tweet was sent in error. We’re reviewing internal policies for social media.
— CSIS (@CSIS) August 19, 2014
9. Taliban Messes Up Tweet, Gives Away Spokesman’s Location
When you’re tweeting for the Taliban, you should probably avoid geolocation tagging. In October, their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sent a tweet that revealed his location as Sindh, Pakistan. Though he later claimed it was part of an “enemy plot,” the damage was already done. As Twitter notes in its geolocation instructions: “Remember, once you post something online, it’s out there for others to see.”
10. Rick Perry’s Twitter Account Posts ‘Unauthorized’ Drunk Democrat Meme
The classic, quick post-and-delete. The tweet included an image of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmburg, the woman involved in Perry’s indictment, over a Dos Equis beer ad. Perry was accused of threatening to slash her budget in an attempt to get her to resign after a DUI.
Though he called Lehmburg “the most drunk Democrat in Texas,” Perry later tweeted that he did not condone the “unauthorized” tweet.
A tweet just went out from my account that was unauthorized. I do not condone the tweet and I have taken it down.
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) September 1, 2014
