It's been less than a week since President Barack Obama got his own Twitter account, and he has already started receiving racist and hate-filled posts, the New York Times reports.
The president's @POTUS Twitter account received several hateful tweets including one with a picture of a monkey and another one with a noose around Obama's neck and his eyes closed, appearing to be dead. The word HOPE, which was on Obama's campaign poster was changed to the word ROPE. There was another post that referred to him as a "Black Monkey" and one more that read "Get back in your cage, monkey."
The tweets, messages and replies exhibited the racial hostility toward the country's first black president that has for a long time, been expressed in stark terms online, where conspiracy theories and prejudices find ready outlets, according to New Delhi TV. However, these racist tweets are different now because of the fact that the president has his own account, the hate is addressed directly to him, for the whole world to see.
White House officials and a Twitter representative said they could not establish the percentage of racist and hateful tweets to Obama, but they appeared to be a small number as opposed to the show of love for the head of state, according to the New York Times. Obama's Twitter account picked up followers at lightning speeds, about 2.3 million by Thursday afternoon. Hundreds and thousands of messages poured in to welcome him to the social network and praising him on everything from his appearance to his policies.
