Kirkcaldy: Police face social media backlash after deleting tweet investigating stickers which read 'Women won't wheesht'

Police in Kirkcaldy have found themselves at the mercy of a social media mockery pile-on after deleting a tweet about an inquiry into “controversial stickers” posted on lampposts on a residential street in the town.

On Monday, May 17, Police Scotland received a report of a “hate incident involving stickers” in the Viewforth Avenue area of Kirkcaldy.

A call was made on social media to anyone who saw the “controversial stickers” to get in touch with either the police or Fife Council.

Soon after it was posted, the tweet gained some traction and pictures of the "controversial sticker” emerged, prompting hundreds of responses mocking the inquiry, resulting in police deleting the tweet.

The sticker at the centre of the storm reads “Women won’t wheesht” – something that most users appear to agree is controversial, but few view as a hate crime.

SNP MP Joanna Cherry quote tweeted the original post before it was deleted saying: “Keeping an eye on this. Being controversial is not a crime....Thankfully,” with a winky-face emoji at the end.

Other twitter users questioned whether the sticker was the source of the report as they originally mistook it for a joke.

The "controversial stickers" had been put up in the Viewforth Avenue area of Kirkcaldy.

One woman wrote: “Seriously? That sticker is considered to be hateful enough for the police to involve themselves?

“What on earth is happening in Scotland?”

Someone else could not hide their sarcasm when suggesting Fife Council “must provide fainting couches on every corner”.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Officers in Kirkcaldy received a report of a hate incident involving stickers in the Viewforth Avenue area around 9.15am on Monday, 17 May. “Enquiries were carried out and no criminality has been established."

The "controversial stickers" were reported to police on Monday, May 17.

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