The Free Application for Federal Student Aid's Twitter account committed a dangerous online blunder Tuesday night in its effort to reach young audiences through irreverent memes and tweets.
Known to provide students and would-be students' access to their office's financial aid programs for college funding, the financial aid program tweeted an image that featured a photo meme of Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids with a caption, "Help me. I'm poor" at 9 p.m., USA Today reported, issuing an apology Wednesday morning for an "insensitive social media post." It was accompanied by a message reading, "If this is you, then you better fill out your FAFSA."
The image, a popular meme derived from the 2011 comedy that shows Wiig's character pouting about being sent back to her coach seat after sneaking her way into first class, caused outrage among readers and seemed to be mocking the poor.
Within minutes of posting the tweet, it received immediate universal condemnation, with online comments deeming it as "offensive" and "tasteless."
The tweet has since been taken down, with FAFSA issuing an apology tweet, saying "We apologize for the insensitivity of our previous tweet. Our goal is to make college a reality for all. We're very sorry."
Dorie Nolt, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, apologized in a statement, calling the tweet an "ill-conceived attempt at reaching students through social media."
"[The post] flies in the face of our mission of opening doors of opportunity for every student. We are reviewing our process for approving social media content to ensure it reflects the high standards we expect at the U.S. Department of Education."
The Federal Student Aid office, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education, controls more than $150 billion in grants, loans and work-study money that is distributed to more than 15 million students each year, according to CNNMoney.
