A journalist in the US has caused outrage after mockingly saying that Manchester bombing survivors' tattoos look like 'flies'.
Joan Meiners, who writes for the Smithsonian and describes herself as a "Journalist / Ecologist / Athlete, (sic)", posted an image showing several different bee tattoos on social media.
The tattoos were done as a way of honouring the memories of the 22 people who died in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing at a Ariana Grande concert.
"I’m considering starting a freelance business where I offer to look at your bee tattoo design and tell you whether or not it actually looks like a bee," Meiners captioned the image.
"What do you think? How much should I charge? Taxonomically, these are all flies."
In the tweet, she included an image taken from an article in the Public Radio International which addresses the importance of the bee and its link to Manchester.
Meiners instantly faced backlash on Twitter after posting the image, with many struggling to believe her post.
"Are you serious," said one person.
"As the owner of said tattoo, a beekeeper and part of the scientific community, I think you ought to get a life and do something useful with your knowledge! Not mock a much loved and symbolic token to a great city and terrible tragedy!"
One woman said she was ashamed on behalf of Meiners.
"This is really embarrassing for you. Delete and apologise," she posted, while another person was surprised Meiner had a PhD.
"Mad how you've got a PhD but seemingly unable to do a simple Google search."
According to the Daily Mail, the Manchester bee once represented the workers of the industrial revolution when the city took a heavy role in the mass production of cotton and other materials.
The bee represents solidarity among workers and adopted a similar powerful meaning of unification in 2017 following the Manchester bombing.
The image of the bee can be found around the city, in the Manchester Town Hall and Manchester Art Gallery.
