Caution: If you’re in what the media might call a ‘high profile’ role in the City, take care with what you post on social media – especially pics showing off exotic holidays or prestige events.
Paras Shah, a former high yield bond trader at Citi, has seen his name and face plastered across the media in the past 24 hours as the story emerged that he’d lost his job due to allegations of stealing canteen sandwiches.
The Daily Mail has been at the forefront of the coverage and has plucked photos of Shah in Machu Picchu and attending Wimbledon’s Centre Court, among other choice offers from his Facebook page.
The pictures perfectly illustrate the angle that makes it a perfect Mail story – the contrast between the individual’s high pay and the low value of the sandwiches.
When we prepare for media training sessions we occasionally uncover the type of social media horrors that would capture reporters’ attention – from questionable photos to dubious comments online. And it only ever takes a few minutes to find them.