Here Are Two Very Different Reactions From Political Journalists Who Accidentally Tweeted Out Porn

It is 2017, the Internet is our new god, and pornography is ubiquitous. In terms of people accidentally outing themselves as porn-watchers on social media—via screenshots, links, etc.—the only real surprise is that it doesn’t happen more often. It is totally inevitable. Before we get into the facts of two very different cases, we would like to state for the record that nobody should be ashamed about looking at (legal) pornography, nor should they be mocked or shamed for it when the accidental revelations emerge. Second, in no way are we commenting on the truth of the two accounts that follow.

This is not about judgment. The question we want to ask instead is: How should someone react when it happens to them? What’s the best way for a public figure to do “damage control”? We’ll investigate this problem through the lens of two recent incidents.

So, incident one. A few months ago, a reporter accidentally tweets out a link to porn, gets caught. The sharks circle. This was his response:

Got an email form Eve Peyser at Gizmodo asking about my tweet last night. Here’s what I sent her. pic.twitter.com/SOTbta2cP6

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 31, 2016

For those who can’t read the text:

I’ve always had intense admiration for people who find themselves in situations where they’re supposed to feel ashamed and runaway and hide but just don’t and embrace it because they don’t feel like there’s anything to be ashamed or embarrassed about.

I guess what I’ve learned from this experience is how few people on twitter have ever watched porn. Which is a great loss.

And you know what? Good for him. That’s absolutely the way to handle the aftermath, because it’s just true. It also had the secondary effect of cutting off any shaming at the knees. He had to take some ribbing, but in the end, people respected his honesty.

Today, a second incident happened. A different political journalist tweeted out a photo in which a computer tab was visible. Internet sleuths quickly linked the text on the tab to a Hentai porn site. Here is how that writer reacted:

Sigh. Ok, I’m a dumbass. Believe it or not, my kids & I were trying to convince my wife that “tentacle porn” existed. I tried to find…(1)

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 8, 2017

…some to show her it was real. But I couldn’t find any – & ended up w/ this. My family reads my twitter feed, so they know this is true.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 8, 2017

While hentai (until now, I thought it was called manga) was on screen as part of search to prove 2 my wife tentacle porn exists, what….(1)

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 8, 2017

No one hacked my account. We were searching to prove to my wife tentacle porn exists. See text convo. I only removed names and drug names. pic.twitter.com/EMHYlYKcPf

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 8, 2017

Ive got nothing left to say about this. Believe what I say or dont. Think my family has odd conversations (we do) or don’t. So it goes.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 8, 2017

Now, okay. Okay. Okay. What do you say to something like that?

Again, we are emphatically not commenting on the truthiness of this. But of the two reactions? The first one seems better. And if nothing else, let this be a PSA for anybody who has to endure this in the future.

Also, there’s this:

the best part is there weren’t any tentacles in it pic.twitter.com/Ym7RGPJqy1

— Goth Ms. Frizzle (@spookperson) June 8, 2017

For a full breakdown of the story, head here.