Washington Post sports journalist Mike Wise has been suspended for a month after a Twitter hoax in which he knowingly falsely claimed that suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would last for five games, according to NBC Sports.

After several related tweets, Wise finally revealed that the original post was a fake and that he had made it up to prove the point that "anybody will print anything," reported Michael David Smith, lead blogger for FanHouse on AOL Aports. The Miami Herald and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review were among the news outlets that cited Wise's Twitter post.

In a memo to staffers, the Washington Post sports editor reminded reporters that basic journalism ethics still apply, regardless of the medium.

"When you use social media, remember that you are representing The Washington Post, even if you are using your own account. This is not to be treated lightly. The same standards that we apply to ourselves in the newspaper, on the website, on mobile or in any other media platform apply to the world of social media. Most fundamentally, we need to be accurate. We need to be transparent. And we need to be fair," the memo said.

Ironically, according to various sports bloggers such as from The Atlantic and the Washington Post, while trying to make a point about credibility, Wise in fact damaged his own.