Be Careful What You Tweet!

This is an excerpt from a WaPo column by Andrew Alexander. To read the entire article, click here.

Post columnist Mike Wise suspended for fake Twitter report

Popular Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise has been suspended for a month after knowingly sending a false tweet on Monday.

The action stems from a short scoop to his Twitter followers that said Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been suspended for six games by the NFL after allegations of misconduct, will only have to sit out five games. “Roethlisberger will get five games, I’m told,” Wise tweeted.

That was big news for those who follow professional football, and it quickly spread on the Internet. But as Wise soon acknowledged, it was a hoax that was part of a misguided attempt to comment on the lowered standards of accuracy for information shared on social media.

Fabrication is a major journalistic transgression. He's lucky he wasn't fired.

Wise announced his suspension from The Post at the start of his Tuesday morning radio program on WJFK 106.7 FM. “I’m paying the price I should for careless, dumb behavior in the multi-platform media world,” he told listeners in a contrite program intro.

“My bosses at The Post feel I need a month to think about the severity of my actions,” he said. “I agree and will serve a one-month suspension beginning today at The Post.”

Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli declined to comment. “I’m not going to discuss anything personnel related,” he said.

Post Sports Editor Matthew Vita said, “Clearly, we consider what Mike did was poor judgment on his part.” He added: “He knows that what he did violates our core principles.”

Wise could not be reached for comment beyond his statement on WJFK.

After his initial tweet on Monday, Wise issued several others that suggested his Roethlisberger exclusive was spoof, not scoop. In one of his subsequent tweets, he said his source was a “casino employee in Lake Tahoe.”

After the tweets became known to his Post bosses on Monday, they quickly contacted Wise to seek an explanation. Brauchli settled on the 30-day suspension from The Post. It does not affect Wise’s broadcast work.