The Biggest Social Media Fails of 2014

2014 was the year of the #FAIL on social media once again.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The year that was 2014 is about to be a wrap. Between protests, elections, ISIS, and landing a spacecraft on a comet, it's been a hell of a busy 12 months.

And unsurprisingly, it was just as crazy on social media. Social networks have become more engrained into our society with each passing year—in 2014, there were some good moments, and some bad. We caught a slew of celebrities, brands, and athletes slippin' online, only to get called out by the social media community at large. There were many instances of hashtag abuse, cultural ignorance, and passive aggressiveness. In the category of fails, it was a most entertaining year. 

Here are The Biggest Social Media Fails of 2014.

I Have a Dream, and It Isn't This

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Date: January 20

This isn't what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have ever wanted associated with his dream. The adult video site Pornhub tried to piggyback on MLK Day by tweeting, "Happy MLK. In honor of his death, make sure to only use the Ebony category today." 

Twitter users were pissed:

"Let's Get Social"

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One of the Worst Brand Tweets of All Time

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Date: April 14

It started off innocently enough. One random US Airways customer has a problem with the airline and tweets it to their account. The US Airways account tweets back.

Which could have been the end of the story. But the customer then tweets back to the response, complaining that the company had ignored her other tweets. 

Instead of letting it go and letting these tweets disappear into the ether, US Airways responded with probably the worst public response a major corporation could ever muster up:

Yes, it is what you think it is.

#MyNYPD

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Date: April 22

When the New York Police Department asked Twitter users to tweet nice photos of NYPD officers using the #MyNYPD hashtag, they thought they were going to get some family-friendly pictures. The hashtag took off across the nation, and stayed atop of Twitter's trending charts for days.

But, no, the pictures weren't what the NYPD expected:

#BringBackOurCountry

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Date: May 11

Ann Coulter isn't known for her compassion. When Michelle Obama posted a picture of herself holding a sign with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls (in reference to the Boko Haram kidnappers in Nigeria), Coulter struck back with a hashtag that was more than a little selfish: #BringBackOurCountry. As the saying goes, "there's a time and a place" when it comes to politics.

Social media users scrubbed out Coulter's original message and replaced it with dozens of new ones that felt fitting.

The Diginity Project Disses J.K. Rowling

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Ghana Has No Giraffes

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Date: June 16

During Team USA's awesome World Cup run, one of their best victories came against Ghana. Several brands, of course, jumped in with commentary, because that's just how it goes in 2014. When Team USA sealed the victory, Delta tweeted the score with the Statue of Liberty next to the U.S.'s stat and a picture of a giraffe next to Ghana's. Which is too bad, considering giraffes aren't native to Ghana. Delta was called out for the mistake.

Cheesie's Pub & Grill and the Knockout Deal

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Date: September 9

Chicago's Cheesie's Pub & Grill celebrated "Tinder Tuesday" with a 20-percent-off deal.

Not bad, eh? Well, in the tweet they used to promote the "knockout deal," they named it after NFL running back Ray Rice, who was suspended after the video emerged showing him punching his then-fiancee in February. Employees conveniently blamed the tweet on an ex-employee, but Cheesie's manager fired their social media manager regardless. 

This wouldn't be a bad idea for a tweet if this were, say, the night after a Mayweather fight, not in reference to domestic abuse. 

Donald Trump Retweets Picture of Follower's "Parents"

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Date: September 29

This could be considered a WIN instead of a FAIL for anyone who is not Donald Trump.

See that happy couple in the picture? The one @Feckhead says is his or her parents? Well, they're actually Fred and Rosemary West, who were convicted of raping, torturing and killing 10 girls back in the '70s. Rosemary is incarcerated for life; Fred killed himself before he could be sentenced.

Needless to say, the Donald wasn't happy when he found out about the prank.

Go ahead. Meme me!

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Patriots Tweet N-word

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#TeamCUM

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Brennan Clay Tweets Out Text Messages Between His Ex-Teammate and His Own Wife

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Date: December 5

We feel for former Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay. We really do. But publicly airing your marital problems isn't the way to go.

Clay began tweeting texts from his wife to his former teammate and current Dallas Cowboys running back Demarco Murray. The texts implied Clay's wife had been cheating on him with Murray; she'd saved Murray in her phone as "Spray Tan." Ouch. 

While Clay tweeted this, Murray was having a monster game for the Cowboys. Realizing this, Clay poured more salt on his wounds: 

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