Islamic State supporters claim that a white British teenager joined the group after missing the deadline to apply for university.

A photograph shows a pale, thin young man with dark floppy hair in a black T-shirt and military webbing, clutching an AK47 assault rifle. He looks nervous and is flanked by two fighters in similar dress, one with a turban, who stare confidently at the camera, with a backdrop of the flag of Islamic State (Isis).

Referring to the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (Ucas), the body that manages applications for entry to higher education in the UK, the caption reads: “Meet Jonathan Edwards — applied for UCAS to [sic] late and wasn’t accepted in any university, so he joined the Islamic state.”

The picture