Debunked: Six of Donald Trump’s controversial Twitter claims

Donald Trump is known for his frequent tweeting
REUTERS
Patrick Grafton-Green20 October 2017

Donald Trump sparked outrage across the UK today by attributing a 13 per cent crime rise to "radical Islamic terror".

He was met with an immediate backlash after tweeting: "Just out report: "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror." Not good, we must keep America safe!"

Although in the UK crime did rise by 13 per cent, there was no evidence to suggest this was linked to Islamic extremism, with the majority of offences including knife crime and sexual offences.

Trump was criticised by hundreds of people online, mainly Brits.

Here are six other times the US President has been challenged as to the veracity of his tweets.

Parsons Green attack

After a bomb partially exploded at Parsons Green in London, Mr Trump tweeted: "Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!"

The Metropolitan Police said the US president's comments - which did not correspond with any information released by the UK authorities - were "unhelpful" and "pure speculation".

London Bridge attack

After the London Bridge terror attack, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said people should not be alarmed by visibly increased security on the streets of the capital.

Mr Trump sparked a backlash when he tweeted: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"

A spokesman for Mr Khan said the tweet was "ill-informed" and deliberately taken out of context.

Obama wire tapping

The President accused Barack Obama of having Trump Tower telephones "wire tapped" during last year's election, a claim that an Obama spokesman said was false.

In a series of tweets he said he had "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"

The Department of Justice later said in a court filing that it had found no evidence to support Mr Trump's claim.

Voter fraud

Mr Trump faced a backlash when he tweeted: "Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!"

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla tweeted back: "It appears that Mr Trump is troubled by the fact that a growing majority of Americans did not vote for him.

"His unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in California and elsewhere are absurd."

Fake news

The US President has criticised the mainstream media and "fake news" a number of times, saying in one tweet that the "failing" New York Times has "dwindling subscribers and readers".

The newspaper replied: "Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters."

Face-lift claims

He called TV host Joe Scarborough a "psycho" and colleague Mika Brzezinski "crazy" and claimed she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he saw them at his Florida estate.

The pair said Trump was lying over the face-lift claims, and Ms Brzezinski said she was alarmed at how the President deals with women who disagree with him.

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