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Updated, 12 p.m. A message about race and AIDS in Africa posted on the Twitter account of a Manhattan public relations executive at an Internet media giant on Friday caused a global outcry on Twitter and around the web. The executive apologized on Sunday after she was fired on Saturday.

The message, from the account of Justine Sacco, the communications director for InterActiveCorp, better known as IAC, read: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

IAC, headed by Barry Diller, is the corporate parent of more than three dozen companies, including Match.com, The Daily Beast and Dictionary.com. The company, based in New York City, also owns BlackPeopleMeet.com, a dating site for African-Americans. On Saturday afternoon, IAC issued a statement saying that the company “had parted ways with the employee in question.”

On Sunday, Ms. Sacco released a statement apologizing for her post, calling it a “needless and careless tweet.”

“This is my father’s country, and I was born here,” she said in the statement. “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.”

On Friday, IAC officials quickly responded to the Twitter post, putting out a statement that called it “an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC.” But it said it could not contact Ms. Sacco. “Unfortunately, the employee in question is unreachable on an international flight, but this is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”

By Saturday afternoon, Ms. Sacco was no longer an employee at IAC. The company’s statement also said:

There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally. We hope, however, that time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core.

The Twitter message, posted from London (seemingly from a location near Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5), raised questions about whether Ms. Sacco’s account had been hacked by an unauthorized user.

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Whatever its genesis, the furor over the tweet – and IAC’s quick response – showed social media’s power to propel a story, in this case turning a previously little-known executive into a figure of notoriety while raising issues of free speech and tolerance. Because she was traveling on a long flight from London to Cape Town, seemingly unaware of the online firestorm, the tweet spawned a hashtag that trended around the world called #hasjustinelandedyet.

One essay on Mashable faulted “the mob’s response” to the tweet and the “trial by social media.”

The Twitter message was deleted late Friday night, E.T. time, which is early morning Saturday in South Africa. And shortly after midnight, E.T., Ms. Sacco’s entire Twitter account was gone.

Then at about 12:30 a.m. E.T., her Facebook account disappeared. It remained unclear whether the public relations professional was in the unenviable position of trying to erase herself from social media. Ms. Sacco’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts were still active in the early morning hours Saturday in New York.

The offending Twitter message on Friday was not the first eyebrow-raising post on the account that appears to belong to Ms. Sacco. An hour earlier, a message from the account said: “Chili- cucumber sandwiches- bad teeth. Back in London!”

And in a message posted 12 hours before that, she seemed to fume about a fellow passenger:

“Weird German Dude: You’re in first class. It’s 2014. Get some deodorant.” -Inner monologue as I inhale BO. Thank god for pharmaceuticals. “

And on February 24, 2012, she seemed to reveal the explicit contents of a recent dream:

“I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night. #fml”

In a short biography on Twitter, Ms. Sacco says she works in corporate communications at IAC and is a “troublemaker on the side.” In January, she posted: “I can’t be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?”

The message about AIDS on Friday was met with disbelief and outrage on Twitter and around the web, with some users calling Ms. Sacco a racist and predicting her resignation.

Wait. Is this a real tweet? Cornrowed Jesus, please say no RT @JustineSacco Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white! — J I Λ (@MissJia) 20 Dec 13

@Odd_Hack @JustineSacco lolol she gets to africa then has to come right back — randy cane (@randygdub) 20 Dec 13

So @JustineSacco is the PR director for @IAC which owns //t.co/RwpG2dR16Y. So, Justine can’t be racist cuz she has Black friends. — Black Canseco (@BlackCanseco) 20 Dec 13

@JustineSacco Right, #JustineSacco. You’re a racist, and an idiot. I sense a firing coming on… — Leon Hill (@rockpublicity) 20 Dec 13

“This joke is so bad and so incredibly tasteless that it’s almost genius. Almost. But it’s not,” Alex Jurgen wrote on wwtdd.com, a blog that specializes in Internet media and gossip. “It’s just going to get this chick super fired.”

He wrote, “See you at the baggage carousel, Justine.”

But others rushed to Ms. Sacco’s defense, saying that it was likely just a joke and pointing to Africa’s AIDS crisis.

@iamDasKapital You can’t argue with #’s. 70.8 percent of the world’s people living with HIV/AIDS live in Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa is dying

— Beaksley (@U_Quack_Addict) 20 Dec 13

Early Saturday morning, a Twitter user identified as @Zac_R said he saw Ms. Sacco after she landed at the airport in Cape Town, South Africa, and he posted pictures that appeared to be Ms. Sacco in sunglasses and chatting on a cellphone. @Zac_R said he spoke to the woman’s father, quoting him as saying he raised his daughter in the United States because of racism in South Africa. The account could not be independently confirmed.

Justine and her sister / friend. She’s on the phone to someone. “No! I really didn’t think it would!” She said. //t.co/HAMxdquPOG — Zac (@Zac_R) 21 Dec 13

Justine’s dad is apologeti & basically in tears.”I decided to raise her in the US. SA was too racist”. Oh, the irony! #HasJustineLandedYet — Zac (@Zac_R) 21 Dec 13

Ms. Sacco could not be reached for comment. Numerous calls to her cellphone went unanswered early Saturday morning.

Out of the firestorm came a social good effort. Someone created the website, //justinesacco.com to bring attention to charitable organizations working to battle AIDS.

Gerry Mullany contributed reporting from Hong Kong.