Today's day and age requires a lot more political correctness than in the past. Here's a quick how-to that'll help you avoid being accidentally racist.

A Donald Trump-supporting model and activist has been stripped of her beauty queen title over “racist” social media posts.

Kathy Zhu, 20, a University of Michigan student who has more than 70,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter where she goes by the handle “PoliticalKathy”, is a prominent online conservative and is the vice chair of her campus Republican student group.

Zhu, who was born in China and immigrated to the US when she was five, first gained internet fame during the 2016 election campaign. In 2018 she sparked controversy after posting about a “Try a Hijab” event at the University of Central Florida, and later that year announced she was transferring to Michigan.

My message while as Miss Michigan is to advocate for speaking your truth

Especially in today’s political climate, we r quick to attack each other based on perceptions & stereotypes

It’s time we take a step back & realize that our diversity of thought is what makes America strong — Kathy Zhu (@PoliticalKathy) July 17, 2019

Earlier this week she was named as a 2019 national finalist by Miss Indiana and Michigan World America, the first phase of the competition before the Miss and Teen World America Preliminary and Finals in Las Vegas in October.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, Zhu said she had been stripped of her Miss Michigan title “due to my refusal to try on a hijab in 2018, my tweet about black on black gun violence, and ‘insensitive’ statistical tweets”.

One of the earlier tweets in question said, “Did you know the majority of black deaths are caused by other blacks? Fix problems within your own community first before blaming others.”

These are the text message exchanges between the state director and me. pic.twitter.com/HtHS1gns6X — Kathy Zhu (@PoliticalKathy) July 19, 2019

Zhu shared a screenshot of an email from Miss World America Michigan state director Laurie DeJack, saying she had “accused me of being racist, Islamophobic, and insensitive”.

Ms DeJack wrote in the email, “It has been brought to the attention of Miss World America that your social media accounts contain offensive, insensitive and inappropriate content, and in violation of MWA’s Rules and Conditions, specifically the contestant requirement of ‘being of good character and whose background is not likely to bring into disrepute Miss World America or any person associated with the organisation’.”

She added, “Therefore, and effective immediately, MWA does not recognise you as a participant of any sort or in any capacity as it relates to any and all events of MWA. Furthermore, let this communication serve as official notice to remove any mention of yourself as a participant in MWA from all social media platforms (including photographs of you wearing the MWA Michigan sash and/or crown, and any text claiming to be a participant of MWA events).”

In her email reply, Zhu wrote, “Statistics and facts are not always pleasant. It’s disgusting how you would rather lie to the public’s face than be supportive of someone that is trying to make a difference by talking about subjects that no one dares to say.”

Referring to the hijab incident, she added that “a Muslim woman tried to forcibly put a hijab on my head without my permission”.

“What’s ‘insensitive’ is that women in the Middle East are getting stoned to death for refusing to obey their husband’s orders to wear hijabs,” she wrote.

“I tweeted about it on my social media … Almost everyone was supportive of me refusing to be put in that situation. Are the people in MWA implying that they advocate for the punishment of women who refuse to wear a hijab?”

Zhu also posted screenshots of text messages from Ms DeJack accusing her of “misleading” the organisation by using her “Chinese first name” when she initially applied.

“I have a lot of stuff being thrown at me right now from Nationals office. We are going to need to have a conversation,” Ms DeJack wrote.

Attaching a link to Zhu’s 2016 tweet she wrote, “Is this you?” Zhu wrote back, “How is that racist? It’s statistics. Didn’t know statistics were racist.”

Conservatives online slammed the move.

“This is unbelievable,” BlazeTV host Lauren Chen wrote. “@PoliticalKathy has been stripped of her pageant title for not wanting to wear a hijab and for highlighting crime rates in some black communities. The fact that these pageant people find her views offensive speaks more to their own bigotry than anything else.”

Podcaster John Hawkins said, “A conservative woman isn’t even allowed to enter a beauty pageant anymore without holding the right politically correct opinions. Whatever happened the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

Music video director Robby Starbuck added, “Apparently you can’t even participate in a @MissWorldLtd pageant if you’re *gasp* openly Republican. What a sorry bunch of bigots. @PoliticalKathy you’re still Miss Michigan to anyone with a functioning frontal lobe in their brain.”

Miss World America has been contacted for comment.

frank.chung@news.com.au