Katie Hopkins, the former MailOnline columnist, who now contributes to the far-right Canadian website the Rebel Media, was condemned online after linking a gas explosion to Muslims.
The tweet, posted at 18:12 GMT read: “Another ‘gas explosion’. Pin marks explosion. Looks like a lovely area.” She added the hashtag ‘#gasmyass’ and juxtaposed an image of news reports against a Google Maps search for nearby mosques.
Hopkins then tweeted: “We don’t know what the f*ck just happened, but we can say with absolute authority it is Definitely Not Terror Related #BritainFalls,” at 18:22 GMT.
Hours earlier, at 14:35 GMT, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the nature of the explosion was gas related, a fact some on Twitter pointed out to Ms Hopkins. This was then tweeted by the main Metropolitan Police account an hour later. Hours before Hopkins made her inflammatory tweets.
Incident in Harold Hill is stood down. The cause of the explosion has been confirmed as gas related. https://t.co/2SfrApD1J3 pic.twitter.com/ZSJ9ITcGR2
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 4, 2018
One user took a screenshot of all the local churches in the area on Google Maps, adding “You’re just being silly now.”
Others went on to accuse Hopkins of spreading hatred, with some pointing that the nearest mosque was still miles away, a Google search confirms that one mosque is over four miles away.
Hopkins was condemned last week after tweeting then deleting a tweet which linked a gas explosion to Leicester to terrorism.
As of writing, Hopkins has not removed the offending tweet about the gas explosion in Harold Hill, as the nature of the tweet has also attracted some hateful comments which mention ‘towel heads’ and one tweet making a joke about explosives.
Tell MAMA has reported the tweets to Twitter, the platform has also streamlined how users can report abusive content on the platform.
Katie Hopkins still retains her verification badge despite Twitter’s clampdown last November.
You can report abusive content you find online through our free iOS or Android apps. Or through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086 or call our confidential phone line for free on 0800 456 1226.