http://twitter.com/#!/thefocusedphd/status/414182837516898305

It was the (tasteless) joke heard around the Twitterverse, as a public relations professional managed to make an AIDS joke that some perceived as racist.

http://twitter.com/#!/JustineSacco/status/414052561248075776

It’s been retweeted nearly 4,000 times in 12 hours, and now it’s inspired a post on the New York Times website and its own hashtag, #HasJustineLandedYet, which trended high among Twitter’s trending topics Friday night.

It even inspired a NORAD-style tracker.

http://twitter.com/#!/allanbrauer/status/414195882641195008

Sacco didn’t say where she was going to in Africa, but that hasn’t stopped Twitter from imagining her arrival at the terminal.

http://twitter.com/#!/johnvmoore/status/414184163562881024
http://twitter.com/#!/vinabean/status/414188995560501248
http://twitter.com/#!/twice_sifted/status/414192638359642112
http://twitter.com/#!/zumikiss/status/414211943562366976
http://twitter.com/#!/cghoseBiz1st/status/414226569708961792
http://twitter.com/#!/YourAnonNews/status/414254680269545472
http://twitter.com/#!/shortbradley/status/414252289566576640
http://twitter.com/#!/hemantmehta/status/414254847240577024
http://twitter.com/#!/BrosAtTheBar/status/414255531155812352

It appears Justine has landed, and deleted the tweet a bit before midnight Eastern.

http://twitter.com/#!/ChristinaM96/status/414257303299186688

And now the entire account is deleted.

http://twitter.com/#!/LFB27/status/414260235428040704

Imagine …

http://twitter.com/#!/nkammerman/status/414257403786702848

Editor’s note: After publishing, we slightly altered the description of Ms. Sacco’s joke to more accurately characterize what she tweeted.

Related:

‘Worst tweet ever’? PR ‘pro’ manages to sound ‘racist,’ mock AIDS in a single tweet

[Update]

Sacco has been fired and has apologized for her AIDS joke:

“Words cannot express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet,” Sacco said in the statement. “There is an AIDS crisis taking place in this country, that we read about in America, but do not live with or face on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand.

“For being insensitive to this crisis — which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly — and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed.

“This is my father’s country, and I was born here. I cherish my ties to South Africa and my frequent visits, but I am in anguish knowing that my remarks have caused pain to so many people here; my family, friends and fellow South Africans. I am very sorry for the pain I caused.”

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2013/12/21/hasjustinelandedyet-following-tasteless-joke-world-awaits-pr-pros-arrival-in-africa/