A social media hate campaign went horribly wrong in Melbourne, where the shamers are now themselves deeply ashamed.

Or they ought to be. Wendy Tuohy reports:

The online shaming of a man for giving high-fives to young Asian women on a Melbourne tram, who was subsequently revealed as having a disability, should give social media activists huge pause for thought.

The man reportedly went to sit close to young women, stared at them intently and waved his hands in their faces seeking high-fives.

He was confronted by a woman who witnessed his approaches, including allegedly following one young woman when she silently moved seats.

The female observer wrote a furious post about the encounter on her Facebook page …

She included a photo of the man in her post which clearly identified his face; after which people who recognised him revealed he was autistic and “harmless” and just enjoyed giving high-fives.