On Sunday, there was a dispute on Twitter between Jim Carrey and Alessandra Mussolini. The granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, the World War II era Italian dictator.
Jim Carrey posted a picture and made a caption that read, “If you’re wondering what fascism leads to, just ask Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta.” The picture then depicted the dictator and his mistress hanging from a beam.
Alessandra then tweeted “You are a bastard,” before tweting some controversial- pictures of America’s past one of the pictures being of Rosa Parks and Native American Indians. In the next post the Italian Parliament member then tweeted a picture of a mushroom cloud.
Considering that Alessandra Mussolini is a member of the Italian Parliament, this is a bigger deal than it seems at first glance.
This is an example of why we need to consider and think about whatever we should post content on social media or not.
Now this instance is an extreme, but what people post on social media could lead to disasters that could have been avoided if they didn’t post in the first place. People lose jobs or, when they go to school, can even be expelled from their institution if they are not careful.
People need to use more caution when they post, especially people who have authority or have a following.
Even though I don’t think Jim Carrey’s post was that offensive, people from Italy might have thought it was offensive, since it offended Alessandra Mussolini.
Instead of bashing and hating of someone’s past, I think we should learn from it, and use that knowledge to better relationships.
On Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and any other forms of social media, the content is negative. This interaction between American actor Jim Carrey and Mussolini’s granddaughter should serve as an example that teaches us to be nicer out in the world, and on these sites.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.