Online backlash

The Islamic militant group Hamas has launched a Twitter hashtag campaign to build support in the West, but the effort seems to be backfiring. Hamas, which rules Gaza, launched #AskHamas on Saturday. The campaign promises responses from the group’s leaders, or as they call it, ‘‘Truth from the mouth of the horse’’. Twitter users have responded with mockery. One asked if a masked Hamas gunman was ‘‘single and ready to mingle’’. Others criticised Hamas for hiding weapons and fighters in civilian areas.