Cornell University is tittering this week with the tale of the married Cornell University tech consultant who managed to CC the entire business school’s listserv on the X-rated email exchange he was having with his lover, a married colleague. (See the Cornell email exchange here – not suitable for work.) “It seems like a joke, but we assure you, this is real life,” says Guest of a Guest. “And it’s not pretty.”
Here, 8 more gaffes involving emails that were sent to many, but intended for few:
TO: Members of the media
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
FROM: U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
SUBJECT: Confidential Witnesses
On January 6, 2009, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald attached the wrong document to a media briefing detailing felony charges against two men accused of $15 million in fraud – and inadvertently identified 24 confidential sources in the process. The Chicago Tribune and Smoking Gun broke the story. It’s a “remarkable screw-up,” the Smoking Gun noted.
“E-mail snafu exposes names of confidential witnesses”
TO: Members of the media
FROM: A press officer at Britain's Treasury
SUBJECT: Unfunny joke
When Treasury press officer Robbie Browse forwarded an email to a group of friends poking fun at the shape of Chinese people's eyes, he inadvertently cc'd several dozen prominent journalists. One replied, "“Will we all be invited to your leaving party?” Browse, in fact, kept his job, but issued a public apology.
"Treasury apologizes over racist email"
TO: All applicants
FROM: University of California at San Diego
SUBJECT: Congratulations!
Last March, the admission department at UCSD intended to send an congratulatory email to the 18,000 students it had accepted for the coming school year. Instead, the school sent note to all 47,000 people who applied -- including the nearly 30,000 who'd been rejected. “We recognized the incredible pain receiving this false encouragement caused," said the admissions director in her apology.
"UC San Diego sends wrong email to rejected students"
TO: Disgruntled customers
FROM: Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit Airlines
SUBJECT: Your horrible travel experience
After a couple wrote an email to several Spirit executives detailing a very bad trip they'd had on the airline, Baldaza replied to all (including to the customers who lodged the complaint): "We owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny."
"Spirit CEO: We owe him nothing"
TO: White House Press Corps
FROM: White House Staffer
SUBJECT: White House Seder Dinner
A “sleep deprived” White House staffer mistakenly sent out an unedited draft of the April 9, 2009 daily schedule to the press corps. While the document contained no top-secret information, it did include some spirited back-and-forth about the evening’s Seder dinner.
“Oops! Obama’s press office has an e-mail snafu”
TO: Employees About to be Axed
FROM: Carat Media Agency
SUBJECT: You’re probably fired
Employees at Carat Media had an unexpected look at the inner workings of upper management in September 2008, when an e-mail detailing the parlance of layoffs was accidentally sent out to the entire company. According to US News, the document offered talking points designed to soften the blow, including the concept of “right-sizing” rather than downsizing.
“Staff learns of layoffs via e-mail mistake”
TO: Various Reporters
FROM: Senator Michael Bennet
SUBJECT: Anti-terrorism raids
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is a member of the Homeland Security Committee, but that couldn’t protect him from the dangers lurking in his inbox. Bennet’s press secretary accidentally forwarded the contents of an e-mail correspondence discussing the ongoing anti-terrorism investigation of a Colorado man suspected of ties to Al Qaeda. While the e-mail contained little confidential information, the incident was an embarrassment for the senator and his staff. “It could fuel the perception that he’s not ready for prime time,” said Politico.
“Bennet’s embarrassing e-mail”
TO: Conference Attendees
FROM: McAfee Internet Security
SUBJECT: All your private info
Earlier this year, e-mail security vendor McAfee compromised the cyber-safety of over 1400 conference-goers when the company accidentally attached a spreadsheet containing “the full registration database”--including names, contact information, employment history and even dietary requirements--to a note thanking everyone for their attendance.
“Oops, e-mail security vendor McAfee spills 1400 private names”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.