Sick trolls make Maddie McCann a Pokemon

The Maddie avatar causes outrage

Madeleine McCann

by Cate Sutherland |
Published on

Pokemon Go has only been available in the UK for the past week but trolls are already using the game for evil rather than good.

A man from Glasgow using the name Scott Rennie posted a mock up of Madeleine McCann as a Pokemon you can 'catch' in the mobile game.

pokemon maddie mccann

He wrote on Facebook: "Doon dalmuir park doing pre season wae ma gowdie boys when a stumbled across the rarest of Pokemon."

The distasteful post about the missing girl was liked six times before it was removed, attracting comments from fellow trolls such as: "You evil wee man. I chuckled also."

It's also trending on Twitter:

pokemon maddie mccann
pokemon maddie mccann

Someone sensible quickly pointed out: "That’s not funny" given the agony Maddie's disappearance has caused her parents since she was taken from their Portuguese holiday rental in 2007.

Other fans noted that if the game had launched back when Maddie was reportedly taken, millions of people roaming every nook and cranny of their neighbourhood (in search of rare Pokemons) could have lead to her recovery.

pokemon maddie mccann
pokemon maddie mccann

The augmented reality app has been downloaded at least 30 million times and earned makers Niantic a whopping £35m in revenues.

There are 21 million active users in the US alone as only a handful of countries were privy to the initial launch.

It’s now available across 25 European countries where fans have become obsessed enough to quit their jobs in search of more poke balls and virtual creatures.

pokemon maddie mccann

Police in the US are struggling to cope with Pokemon fans tresspassing at national monuments, museums and cemeteries - including the National Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery.

pokemon maddie mccann

What do you think about the dangers of Pokemon Go? Tell us about it on Facebook and Twitter (@CloserOnline).

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