The Claire Swire email of 2000 was a very personal email from Claire Swire to Bradley Chait, who worked at Norton Rose, a law firm in London, England. She described his semen as "yum." He forwarded it to six friends, one of whom in turn forwarded it further with the subject line of "Do you know Claire Swire" until it spread worldwide within days, and received wide coverage in newspapers and television. The author of the original email is in doubt, as Chait later said that the email was a hoax perpetrated by colleagues, as he "was the new boy".
Consequences
Those at Norton Rose who forwarded the email were suspended, but kept their jobs.
Implications
Because of its wide coverage, the incident is often cited as an example of the problems that staff can cause to the reputation of their employer (and the risk of embarrassment and disciplinary measures) by forwarding personal or questionable material.
References
- Snopes.com "Claire Swire E-mail" (retrieved 8 April 2017)
- Kieren McCarthy Is this the greatest ever email hoax? - The tale of Claire Swire, swallowing and the new boy at Norton Rose The Register, 12 December 2000
- "Smutty e-mailers keep their jobs". BBC News. 21 December 2000.
- Kieren McCarthy (20 December 2000). "Claire Swire email claims nine more victims". The Register.
Further reading
- Jeevan Vasagar and Gwyn Topham (16 December 2000). "Cyber sweet nothing goes public via loose lips in City". The Guardian.
- Barbara Mikkelson (20 December 2000). "Risqué Business (Under the Yum-Yum Tree)". Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com.
External links
- Advice to management Tech Republic
- ePolicy Institute
- Trevor Luxton e-mail: Unclever Trevor Snopes.com, 12 July 2007 - examples of similar incidents