Newcastle fans planning to protest against the club’s Saudi ownership have been threatened and abused by social media accounts that have been linked to the country’s ruling regime.
Members of NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing have been described as racist, insulted and threatened with physical abuse for attempting to hold the Saudi state to account over its human rights record.
Digital-media experts say the abuse is typical of the activity carried out by social-media accounts linked to an ‘army’ of professional trolls working for a state-run operation in Riyad.
John Hird, the founder of the NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing, has been individually targeted, with the bot accounts lifting photographs from his various social-media accounts and sharing them online alongside posts attempting to dismiss his status as a genuine Newcastle fan.