UKIP has been widely mocked online after party organisers mistook Westminster Cathedral for a mosque in a segment for the BBC’s Daily Politics.
When the Daily Politics show tweeted a picture of a ‘moodbox’ they had set up on the streets of London to gauge public opinion on the possibility of Nigel Farage as prime minister, UKIP members from South Thanet immediately went on the defensive and accused the BBC of unfair bias by setting up the box outside a mosque.
Has @Nigel_Farage got what it takes to be PM? See how the balls fall in @reporterboy film on Tue #bbcdp after 1200 pic.twitter.com/0rtIoW1KrK
— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) November 25, 2014
The official UKIP South Thanet branch said in a tweet (now deleted):
“Perfect place to hold vote in front of a mosque in London. BBC’s random means selective”
However, the building shown in the photo was not a Muslim place of worship, but the Catholic Westminster Cathedral, a building built in the baroque-style back in 1885.
BBC reporter Giles Dilnot was quick to point out the UKIP spokesperson’s mistake
@ukip_sththanet @daily_politics @Nigel_Farage You are SO wrong you might be embarrassed by that
— Giles Dilnot (@reporterboy) November 25, 2014
The exchange was then quickly satirized online, with the hashtag #ThingsThatAreNotMosques emerging to highlight to those confused as to what exactly a mosque does and does not look like:
@sturdyAlex @Nigel_Farage Moccasins #ThingsThatAreNotMosques pic.twitter.com/QNmGSEm21j
— Scott Taylor (@SCO_77) November 26, 2014
Musk ox…@Nigel_Farage http:pic.twitter.com/RMzSYxRGJt #ThingsThatAreNotMosques
— cronsey jones (@cronsey) November 26, 2014
#thingsthatarenotmosques Are you sure this is isn't a Mosque #ukip? Looks foreign to me. pic.twitter.com/fsHWwRupj6
— David Joseph Brady (@WolfPenguined) November 26, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques Mosquito pic.twitter.com/COjZXv8JlH
— Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) November 26, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques But it's got a dome, it must be a mosque?! pic.twitter.com/hw61pPBBa4
— Edward James (@edwardajames) November 26, 2014
The Jedi Temple on Coruscant #ThingsThatAreNotMosques pic.twitter.com/zCySYVAtq6
— Alan (@AlanLewis05) November 26, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques Moss pic.twitter.com/akYjQr8snA
— Simon Hoyle (@iskibar14) November 26, 2014
Moosques? ;) #ThingsThatAreNotMosques pic.twitter.com/3BoHBWsCMv
— Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) November 26, 2014
#thingsthatarenotmosques It was the name that got me pic.twitter.com/odWeEcnHLy
— Grilling Kippers (@GrillingKippers) November 26, 2014
This is not a Mosque, but those gentlemen look decidedly 'Foreign' don't they?#ThingsThatAreNotMosques pic.twitter.com/y6POok2PUq
— Steven Moore (@MrStevenMoore) November 26, 2014
#NotWhite, can't speak English, took all our toast and custard, and building a tubby mosque #ThingsThatAreNotMosques pic.twitter.com/y0EHzHjwqu
— Jayke Harrison (@JaykeHarrison) November 27, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques yes it is in the middle east but no #Ukip it is not a mosque pic.twitter.com/sBJL8MldXd
— George Makin (@_themushroom) November 27, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques Moss, K. pic.twitter.com/5VLlEI4CiV
— Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) November 26, 2014
#ThingsThatAreNotMosques Masks pic.twitter.com/Oa6AsrZK2X
— Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) November 26, 2014
The Ukip South Thanet spokesperson later apologised for their mistake, but that hasn’t stopped the flood tweets continuing.
