Anti-Immigration Group Mistakes Empty Bus Seats For Women Wearing Burkas

An Norwegian anti-immigration group has been mocked after mistaking a photograph of empty bus seats for Muslim women wearing burkas.

Prankster Johan Slattavik jokingly posted the photo on the 13,000-strong Fatherland First [translated] Facebook page, asking: "What do people think of this?"

However many in the group believed the post was serious and failed to spot that it was actually just a photo of an empty bus, The Local reports.

"It looks really scary, should be banned. You can never know who is under there. Could be terrorists with weapons," wrote one.

Another posted: "Get them out of our country ... Frightening times we are living in."

The post and subsequent responses went viral when they were then shared by Sindre Beyer on Facebook.

The group responds to the image. Credit: Facebook

Credit: Facebook

He captioned the screenshots: "What happens when a photo of some empty bus seats is posted to Facebook and nearly everyone thinks they see a bunch of burkas?"

Speaking to the Washington Post, Johan Slattavik said the he found the response amusing.

"I laid out the photo to see what happened," he said, adding that he was shocked so many people fell for it, adding that he ended up having a good laugh."

A woman wearing a burka walking inside in Morocco. Credit: PA Images

It comes after Norway's right-wing government proposed a burka ban earlier in the year, following similar moves across Europe.

Last year german Chancellor Angela Merkel said the wearing of full-faced veils should be prohibited in Germany 'wherever it is legally possible' and in Austria the ruling coalition agreed to prohibit full-face veils in January.

Asked about the response to the bus seat image, Norwegian Centre Against Racism head Rune Berglund told The Local: "People see what they want to see and what they want to see are dangerous Muslims.

He added: "In a way it's an interesting test of how quickly people can find confirmations of their own delusions."

Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: Racism, Racist, Facebook, Immigration

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday