Another day, another Donald Trump controversy on Twitter.
The Republican frontrunner has been widely criticised after retweeting inaccurate statistics about murders in the US.
"@SeanSean252: @WayneDupreeShow @Rockprincess818 @CheriJacobus pic.twitter.com/5GUwhhtvyN"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
November 22, 2015
It is claimed the statistics listed in the tweet are from San Francisco’s Crime Statistics Bureau, which many users were quick to point out, doesn’t appear to actually exist.
While the stats shared by Trump claims 81 per cent of white murder victims have been killed by black people in 2015; official FBI statistics from last year, the most recent available, show the number is actually 15 per cent.
Out of 5,703 murder victims in the US in 2014, the FBI statistics say:
Black victim/white offender - 8%
White victim/white offender - 82%
White victim/black offender - 15%
Black victim/black offender - 90%
This Trump tweet is wrong. Here's the real, most recently available statistics from the FBI. https://t.co/C1DxJAajL5 pic.twitter.com/YE4HcSBckr
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce)
November 22, 2015
Buzzfeed reports that while the FBI's stats vary year-to-year, Trump's statistics would mean a massive 440% increase in black-on-white crime in one year.
Many Twitter users were quick to criticise Trump, with the tweet being shared and favourite by thousands.
@realDonaldTrump sorry Donald, but Presidenting is for grown-ups.
— Chris (@SpacemanChris)
November 22, 2015
@TKennaw51 @snelson2012 that source doesn't exist...That's why people are saying it's fake
— ?? (@_b_i_j_)
November 22, 2015
@28DLA And if you google "Crime Statistic Bureau - San Francisco", you'll see it's not a real thing that exists.
— PABLO GOLDSTEIN (@pablogoldstein)
November 22, 2015
@realDonaldTrump Your figure to the right is incorrect. The bar graph shows correct FBI figures for 2011 homicides. pic.twitter.com/NQ3zpgZEUf
— Harold Pollack (@haroldpollack)
November 22, 2015
The Twitter row comes after Trump said at a rally in Alabama that he wants "surveillance of certain mosques" and surveillance of Muslims arriving in the country.
"I do want surveillance. I will absolutely take database on the people coming in from Syria if we can't stop it, but we're going to," he said.
He added: "So here's the story just to set it clear: I want surveillance of these people. I want surveillance if we have to and I don't care," said Trump.
"I want surveillance of certain mosques, OK. If that's OK? I want surveillance. And you know what? We've had it before and we'll have it again."
Meanwhile, an American Muslim won Twitter plaudits for his response to Trump following his comments about creating a ‘Muslim database’ in the wake of the Paris attacks.