PA ImagesKate and Gerry McCann have responded to a horrific parody picture showing their missing daughter wearing a sweatshirt with the slogan ‘hide and seek champion’.
The parents of Madeline McCann branded the image, which was made by Twitter user Kieron Marsh, ‘tasteless and offensive’ and others on social media have condemned the joke.
Despite this, the post has been retweeted over 7,000 times and liked by more than 22,000 Twitter users, with some online praising the image as ‘brilliant’.
Absolutely disgusting from H&M I’m ashamed!! pic.twitter.com/il6rhIP2Vy
— Kieron Marsh (@MarshKieron01) January 11, 2018
Thankfully some people on the internet have managed to retain their humanity and realised this is an awful thing to do, blasting the tweet as offensive and hurtful.
The mocked up image is a reference to the scandal currently engulfing H&M, who’ve been accused of racism following their choice to use a young black child to model a hoodie with the slogan ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ written on it.
H&M has apologised for the controversy and removed the hoody from sale following the controversy sparked by the advert.
HM.comSince the image first hit the web the picture’s gone viral with hundreds of parodies popping up online many of which are darkly controversial.
Now though the McCanns have been targeted by cruel online trolls yet again.
PAA source close to the McCanns told The Sun:
It’s the start of the New Year and they can’t believe all this tasteless rubbish is resurfacing again. It’s so offensive and so unnecessary.
We’ve had this all this sort of stuff before and now it’s back up there again.
It causes more hurt to a family still suffering but they do their best to ignore negativity and spiteful postings.
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A study last year found that Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry, received more than 150 abusive messages from social media users each day.
Both Kate and Gerry have never given up hope that Maddie, who disappeared while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz back in 2007, is still alive.
GettyThe couple has vowed that they are ‘united in our aim of finding Madeleine’.
The Madeline McCann parody isn’t the only dark version of the meme. Someone’s mocked up a version of the image with Anne Frank in the sweatshirt along with the slogan ‘coolest jew in the chamber’.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.