Omar Mateen shot 50 people in cold blood Sunday at a gay nightclub in the U.S. coastal city of Orlando in the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history. Daesh (ISIS)’s media outlet Amfaq reported that Mateen had pledged allegiance to the group, and he reportedly made statements in support of them in a 911 call during the attack, although his exact relation with Daesh remains unconfirmed. This did not stop Daesh accounts from celebrating the attack on Twitter, rubbing salts in the wound as they boasted of the Pulse nightclub shooting that so many are mourning.
In Arabic, the hashtag ‘On_Their_Doorsteps’ began trending in the hours following the shooting. Many accounts supporting Daesh hailed the attack utilizing this hashtag and others.
Some tweeters used English translations of the attacks to criticize Daesh’s actions, and call on Twitter to ban the pro-Daesh accounts.
RT if you believe @twitter @Support @safety should delete all accounts using the #WeWillBurnUSAgain hashtag!
— ☀️Tuesday☀️ (@TuesdayTells) June 12, 2016
https://t.co/Wydv2w7Tir
Twitter has shut down such accounts in the past.
Many poked fun at the seemingly pro-Daesh hashtag #WeWillBurnUsAgain, noting that it read ‘us’ and not ‘U.S.’
#WeWillBurnUsAgain hashtag that is being used by pro-ISIS accounts is kinda funny. Please, burn yourselves. Again. We wouldn't mind.
— (((Ido Daniel))) (@IdoDaniel) June 12, 2016
However, what they failed to realize is that this is an English translation of the Arabic hashtag, and is not being used by Daesh accounts. The Daesh hashtag, though brutal, was gramatically correct.
'Orlando' and 'Orlando_Explosion’ began trending in Arabic after the attacks as well. Here, Arabic speakers condemned the attacks in both English and Arabic.
#اورلاندو Nobody deserves to lose their lives because of their sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, etc...
--AL
