A PHOTOGRAPH of a woman wearing a headscarf showing apparent indifference to a stricken victim of the London terror attacks overnight has provoked a storm of outrage on social media.

Twitter user Texas Lone Star kicked off the controversy by tweeting the picture with the comment “Muslim woman pays no mind to the terror attack, casually walks by a dying man while checking phone” along with the hashtags #PrayforLondon and #BanIslam.

While the tweet has been shared hundreds of times, Lone Star Texas was quickly put in his (or her) place when another user posted an almost identical photograph — this time featuring a white man walking past a similar scene while “doing nothing”, which hasn’t attracted the same amount of attention.

Not that it would have been appropriate for either passer-by to have inserted themselves into a scene which was clearly already under the control of professionals helping the respective victims.

It is a classic example of how easy it is to take an image out of context and use it for the purpose of propaganda.

Read more: Millions of Muslims arrive at Mecca in Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage

Muslim woman pays no mind to the terror attack, casually walks by a dying man while checking phone#PrayForLondon #Westminster #BanIslam pic.twitter.com/B83Jwno65t — Texas Lone Star (@SouthLoneStar) March 22, 2017

Lone Star Texas is called out by user @rashedalyoha, who points out that nobody is shaming the man despite the fact that he “did the same thing”.

Another user, Barbara Davis, said: “Can no one see why a Muslim woman wearing a head scarf might be worried for her safety at that point? The white guy not so much”.

RogueBennyBen put everything in perspective with this comment: “who knows what they were doing. Plenty of people involved. May even have been told to walk on. Judgment not needed”.

Australian lawyer, activist and social commentator Mariam Veiszadeh, who is Muslim, posted a heartbreaking tweet saying she avoided using public transport this morning for fear of being judged and that the response to the photograph validated those fears.

@marnieoneill7 @newscomauHQ To me this validates my fears. Today I avoided public transport because I knew I'd be judged like this woman. 😥 — Mariam Veiszadeh (@MariamVeiszadeh) March 23, 2017

#PrayForLondon

The pic of that Muslim girl got many retweets, but no one Tweeted a White Guy doing the same thing...



RETWEET!! pic.twitter.com/VKr5BEO4bx — Impeach Donald Trump (@Impeach_D_Trump) March 22, 2017

@SouthLoneStar you are a complete embarrassing mess of a person. Kindly crawl back to the pond you came out of,

Stupidity embodied. — Dr Vicky Forster (@vickyyyf) March 22, 2017

@SouthLoneStar so desperate too. So damn desperate. You haven't got anything real to make your claims so you make crap up about a picture. pic.twitter.com/lLJSSJoMwd — Dr Vicky Forster (@vickyyyf) March 22, 2017

@Impeach_D_Trump Can no one see why a Muslim woman in a head scarf might be worried for her safety at that point? The white guy not so much — Barbara Davis (@bdavisauthor) March 22, 2017