March 29, 2021 11.37 am This story is over 36 months old

Police probe racist Tinder message sent to Lincoln student

Police said the four men in the Tinder profile photo were not involved

The racist message was sent over Tinder.

Police have now got publicly involved in a scandal which first surfaced in a Lincoln Facebook, group where four men were accused of sending a racist message to a Lincoln student over Tinder.

A post in the Facebook group from Overheard at University of Lincoln earlier this month said that “a member of our society came forward to let us know that she received racial abuse on a dating app which was not only premeditated but also targeted because she’s a black woman”.

The post was accompanied by a photo of four men and a copy of a Tinder message received by the student, which contained racist language and began circulating on social media. The original poster later removed it after checking with the victim as she said she was asked to do so by the university.

Lincolnshire Police spoke out publicly about the incident for the first time on Monday, March 29, saying none of the four men in the profile photo on the Tinder account had any involvement.

The force said: “We are investigating an incident in which a woman received a racist message over Tinder.

“There has been some speculation on social media regarding who is responsible. This is irresponsible, unhelpful, and potentially libellous. Please delete any comments or posts in which any individual is named.

“We would like to highlight that the four men on the profile photo used on the account in question are NOT INVOLVED in this incident. The tinder account in question was accessed by an unauthorized individual.”

In the days after the incident first came to light, the University of Lincoln posted the following statement on social media:

One of the men pictured in the profile photo of the Tinder account spoke out and offered his “sincerest apologies to anyone offended by remarks made in association with my picture”.

He shared a copy of a letter dated March 18 from Hannah Coleman, the Group Deputy Chief Executive/Chair of the Disciplinary Process, at Lincoln Students’ Union

She said: “It is clear that you had no involvement or were complicit in the allegation that was detailed in the original complaint”.

“Therefore I can confirm that no further disciplinary action will be taken and your suspension of membership privileges to the Students’ Union will be reinstated with immediate effect.”