Another week, another incredibly offensive comment from the pages of the Daily Mail.
While we expect a certain amount of shock tactics with readers, it’s depressing to know the level of racism and discrimination harboured by readers, and encouraged by the publication.
The comment was featured in a Daily Mail article, where portions of a story were apparently taken from the Bristol Post in a sensationalist manner.
According to i100, the original story referenced a witness who said the man was asked to get off the London-bound National Express bus in Bristol because he was Muslim.
The University of Bristol student told the paper how she “could not believe” the actions by the National Express – who denied they acted in an Islamophobic way.
Defending their decisions in a statement, the National Express wrote:
“The gentleman concerned boarded with excess luggage which became an issue for a number of our other customers.
He refused to put the excess luggage in the hold when requested, was abusive towards our staff and walked out of the station.
Our staff, who often have to make difficult decisions at short notice, remained professional throughout and are extremely upset at these serious allegations which are both unfounded and untrue.”
The story was later picked up by the Daily Mail, who allowed open commenting on the story:
Image: i100
Which resulted in this comment being the most ‘upvoted’ comment on the piece:
Image: i100
While they can’t control opinions, they can control the comments – and either way, you’d hope this would be removed.
According to reports, in the week following the Paris attacks, there have been 115 incidents of racial abuse against British Muslims.
Inciting hatred online, and allowing its presence on your pages, is not going to help an already delicate situation.
