Internet unleashes on 'vile' journalist following Manchester explosion joke
A journalist has been slammed online after an insensitive joke he posted on Twitter soon after police confirmed fatalities had resulted from the Ariana Grande concert in the UK.
US-based freelance writer David Leavitt, who claims to have written for CBS, AXS and The Examiner, posted a tweet joking about the incident to his 60,000 followers.
“Multiple confirmed fatalities at Manchester Arena,” he tweeted.
“The last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too.”
Mr Leavitt has since deleted the tweet, which received more than 24,000 responses, with almost everyone slamming him for being inappropriate.
“You vile imbecile,” Samar Khan tweeted.
“Kids have just died. Have some respect.
“Some people would do anything for likes or re-tweets, even lowering themselves to making cruel jokes about tragedy that claimed the lives of children,” Catherine Gill tweeted.
Mr Leavitt has since deleted the tweet and apologised but not before several media agencies distanced themselves from him.
“David Leavitt is not a WBZ employee,” CBS Boston tweeted.
“His abhorrent comments in no way represent the views of our station.”
AXS also denied employing Mr Leavitt and said it did not endorse "despicable content."
Earlier, police confirmed there were 19 fatalities in the blast which occurred at Manchester Arena on Monday night.
It's being treated as a terrorist attack.
