Infosys fires employee who Facebooked 'let's hold hands and share coronavirus'

This is clearly not the time to test your firm's social media policy, because that's what was used to let him go

Infosys has fired an employee who reportedly used his Facebook account to suggest wilfully spreading coronavirus.

The man allegedly posted: "Let's join hands, go out and sneeze with open mouth in public. Spread the Virus."

The post was widely spread, then widely condemned, and the poster identified as an Infosys employee in India.

Infosys quickly caught wind of the situation and even interrupted its usually ShinyHappy™ Twitter feed to tell the world it was taking this very seriously.

However, given the seriousness with which we take such matters, we are investigating this further and will also assist with any independent investigation. The company would take appropriate action based on its investigation.

— Infosys (@Infosys) March 26, 2020

A day later, Infosys had satisfied itself that the man who made the post was one of its own, and let him go.

The social media post by the employee is against Infosys’ code of conduct and its commitment to responsible social sharing. Infosys has a zero tolerance policy towards such acts and has accordingly, terminated the services of the employee. (2/2)

— Infosys (@Infosys) March 27, 2020

That decision drew mixed reactions on Twitter. Some praised it given India is in a three-week national lockdown and coronavirus is ever so serious. Others argued that the former employee's freedom of expression made the dismissal unconscionable.

And others couldn't resist interpreting the incident and reaction to it through the lens of some other ideology, demonstrating yet again the very special qualities of social media. ®