During Obama farewell speech, BuzzFeed journalists tweet how much they're crying

A number of BuzzFeed editors and journalists took to Twitter late Tuesday to lament during President Barack Obama's farewell speech.

The tweets came from high-level editors, such as their executive culture editor, down to general news editors and beat reporters.

BuzzFeed's executive editor of culture, Saeed Jones:

Image source: Twitter

BuzzFeed Senior Editor Kev Smith:

BuzzFeed Senior Editor Lara Parker:

BuzzFeed Senior Editor Rachel Sanders:

BuzzFeed News Editor Elamin Abdelmahmoud:

BuzzFeed's Celeb Editor Kristin Harris:

BuzzFeed pop culture writer Sylvia Obell:

They even carried the sentiment over to their main account, which boasts nearly 4.5 million followers.

Many of the tweets gained notoriety and were scrutinized by other journalists on Twitter because many feel that editorial journalists — including reporters and editors — should not take partisan positions. That's why many political journalists don't vote or aren't even registered to vote. Part of being a journalist includes being nonpartisan and objective — and political opinions don't allow for objectivity.

However, this wasn't the first time that BuzzFeed editorial staffers have been called out for questionably partisan tweets or comments.

After a shooting at a theatre in Louisiana in July 2015, a BuzzFeed editor posted to Twitter that people shouldn't "pray" and that they need to "push for gun control." That editor was quickly called out on Twitter and made aware that she was in violation of her company's ethical guide, which bars BuzzFeed editorial staffers from making public, partisan comments. She later apologized.

BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, also came under fire in late 2015 when he told his editorial staffers that it was "entirely fair" to refer to then-candidate Trump as a "mendacious racist." At the time, many conservatives and Trump supporters argued that Smith was violating his own ethical standards, but he alleged that his statement was rooted in fact, not opinion, citing Trump's proposal to temporarily halt any Muslims from immigrating to the U.S.

Obama gave his farewell speech in Chicago late Tuesday, a break from presidential tradition. Typically, presidents give their farewell speeches from the confines of the White House, but Obama decided to take his back to where his campaign for president began nearly 10 years ago.

During his speech, Obama touted the accomplishments of his presidency — yes, including the killing of Osama bin Laden — while laying out his vision for a better, more inclusive and less divisive America. At times, the president became very emotional, specially when speaking about wife Michelle and reminiscing on how far they had come through their life together.

At one point during the speech, the crowd even began to chant "four more years." According to CNN, Obama had been planning the speech for months.

(H/T: Business Insider, Oliver Darcy)

Editors note: This story and its headline was updated following publication.