A very harsh lesson was handed out to frustrated flyer Paul Chambers at Doncaster Crown Court today: if you don’t want your words (or tweets) to get you into trouble, don’t let them come out of your mouth (or Twitter feed). Sure, joking on Twitter that he would blow Donny airport ‘sky high’ if he couldn’t fly to Ireland was dim. But criminal?
It’s merely the latest in a long line of regretful tweets made in the heat of the moment without thinking, just like in the ‘real world’ where people say stupid things all the time.
There is a growing chorus of incredulity in the Twitterverse tonight at the judge’s decision to throw out Chambers’ appeal against his conviction for the ‘obviously menacing’ tweet. The hashtag #twitterjoketrial could be trending tonight as a result.
If only he had thought twice before hitting the tweet button though. He’s not the only tweeter to hit the headlines for glib remarks today either.