ISIS invent sick twist to French flag social media campaign

In a sickening twist, jihadi sympathisers have instead replaced their Twitter profiles with an image of the Tricolor being stamped on by a military boot.

Some members also accused Muslims of 'heresy' after they joined the campaign in support of France.

Just hours after the devastating attacks by ISIS militants last Friday, social media was awash in the red, white and blue of the French flag as people worldwide expressed their solidarity with a nation in mourning in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris.

Users of Facebook shaded their profile pictures in the French Tricolor, while on Twitter and Instagram, members posted vacation photos, teardrops and a peace symbol with the Eiffel Tower inscribed in the centre as they expressed their grief over the carnage.

People also harnessed social media in the search for their missing loved ones as Parisians posted heart-breaking messages and photos under the hashtag #rechercheparis – Paris Search. 

Some of the world's most recognisable buildings and monuments – the Sydney Opera House, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, One World Trade Cente in New York, the Mexican Senate –were also shaded in the colours of the French flag.

However, the social media campaign has attracted controversy after some claimed it was insensitive to non-Western countries who were also victims of terror attacks.

Facebook has been criticized for choosing to turn on its Safety Check in Paris after the terrorist attacks but not to activate it in the wake of a deadly bomb blast in Beirut. 

The feature allows members of the website in areas struck by an incident involving a high number of casualties to let friends and family know they are safe.

It was first used in Tokyo during the tsunami and nuclear disaster of 2011 and has been used by survivors of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan, Chile and Nepal.

The company turned on the feature in the French capital on Friday following the attacks that left 132 people dead.

But it decided not to in the aftermath of twin suicide attacks in Lebanon on Thursday, where at least 43 people were killed.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also slammed by Facebook users for changing his profile picture to the French flag.

Some have questioned why users weren't offered to display the Lebanon flag on their profile to support the victims of the bomb blast.

(dailymail.co.uk)