BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Burqas or bus seats? How a photo caused an internet stir

  • Published
    2 August 2017
Share page
About sharing
Photo of bus seats which some people are assuming look like women in BurqasImage source, UNKNOWN
Image caption,

What do you see?

BySherie Ryder
BBC News

A photograph showing an empty bus in Norway has been gaining worldwide attention.

The picture which sparked debate was originally posted on a private Norwegian anti-immigration group's Facebook page, but has since been shared elsewhere.

Johan Slattavik posted the image on Fedrelandet viktigst, external which translates as "Fatherland First" with the comment "What do people think of this?"

The response from within the group included a range of sarcastic posts:

"I also mistook the chairs for women in burqas. Dangerous game for women in their burqas to stand still for a few seconds. They might end up in garbage/bin vans," said one poster.

"I thought to myself... Well those are three great kids you've got there... That's when hell broke lose," commented another.

While a third lamented: "Poor women. They are slaves."

Mr Slattavik, has not responded to the BBC's request for an interview, but has told the Washington Post, external he posted the image as he was bored and wanted to see how people would react to the photo.

The image gained even more attention after it was shared, external by Sindre Beyer.

Facebook post of the empty bus seats with Johan Slattavik's reaction underneathImage source, Sindre Beyer/Facebook

Mr Beyer, who works for an advertising agency, spotted the photo after gaining access to the closed group: "I went under cover for a few months and managed to join the Facebook group - it was very easy.

"When I saw this photo I saw it as an opportunity to expose this type of content and reaction," Mr Beyer told the BBC.

"At first I think Mr Slattavik posted the photo as a joke, but after it became public, the group was unhappy that they were being ridiculed on social media for mistaking empty bus seats for women wearing burqas."

You might also like:

  • Why Afghan women are campaigning for their names to be heard

  • Azadeh Namdari: Backlash over conservative Iranian television host

  • A man dresses as his dead sister to help his grieving mum

Mr Slattavik even commented on Mr Beyer's post, saying he never thought his joke "would take off" and claimed it showed the difference between "legitimate immigration criticism and blind racism".

Speaking about having an insider's view of the group, Mr Beyer said: "It was kind of disturbing. They also feature a lot of fake news stories."

As the story spread outside of the group, many took to Twitter to share their views.

In Germany, one person noted, external: "The far-right see a threat to the nation in bus seats," and in Italy another saw the irony, external: "Invasion of women in burqas but they are only bus seats".

Some even tried to lighten the mood. In Canada, a haiku reads, external: "Bloom of a bombshell: Burqas on the busy bus? Bungled brouhaha". While in Australia, a "Howdy to the bus seats" came from @HowdytotheHijab, external.

However, not everyone in the closed group made the mistake and were cynical about why the photo had been posted:

"I think it was Sindre Beyer. He should have been thrown out of the group. Sharing with newspapers is reason enough," said one.

While another said: "Ugly and empty seats."

Written by the UGC and Social News team

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Trump says Hamas 'ready for lasting peace' after group agrees to release hostages

    • 7955 viewing8k viewing
  • Synagogue attacker was on bail after rape arrest, police say

    • Published
      18 minutes ago
  • Synagogue attack victims 'died saving others'

    • Published
      3 hours ago

More to explore

  • What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

    Worshippers gather near the scene of the attack
  • Dame Patricia Routledge: The life of TV's magnificently snobby 'Hyacinth Bucket'

    Patricia Routledge
  • Taylor Swift feared happiness could 'dry up' her songwriting

    Taylor Swift on the Graham Norton Show, wearing a black dress with a jewelled neckband and smiling, against a purple backdrop
  • Why we struggle to protect the young from conspiracy theorist parents

    A treated image showing Kate Shemirani on the left and Paloma on the right
  • Is it a cold, flu or Covid – and how to avoid the worst

    A woman outside in a grey wool hat and green jumper blows her nose on a tissue.
  • Behind the Gen Z protesters who want to force Madagascar's president from power

    Masked protesters wearing wearing black glasses and and caps pose on a street
  • 'It was very tough but I love life' - ex-hostage whose family were killed on 7 October

    Portrait of Eli Sharabi in a black shirt with a yellow ribbon lapel pin, sitting in a room with largely neutral colours
  • Weekly quiz: Who said 'I do' to Selena Gomez?

    Selena Gomez, a young woman with dark hair, wears a sleeveless, high-necked white wedding gown and is smiling. Her veil is up.
  • News Daily: Our flagship daily newsletter delivered to your inbox first thing, with all the latest headlines

    A promo promoting the News Daily newsletter - a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Storm Amy danger warnings as wind gusts approaching 100mph recorded

  2. 2

    Serving Met police officer arrested after BBC Panorama investigation

  3. 3

    Bonehead out of Oasis tour after cancer diagnosis

  4. 4

    Climbing star, 23, dies after falling from Yosemite's El Capitan

  5. 5

    Dad given life for killing baby son in hospital

  6. 6

    Teenage girls detained for killing man in street

  7. 7

    Sarah Mullally named as new Archbishop of Canterbury

  8. 8

    Lammy told 'shame on you' by attack vigil crowd

  9. 9

    Synagogue attack victims 'died saving others'

  10. 10

    Starmer tells protesters to 'respect grief of British Jews'

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Alan Partridge returns with a 'brave' new project

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge) has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge)
  • Dragons' Den returns with more hopeful entrepreneurs

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Dragons' Den has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Dragons' Den
  • A heartfelt comedy exploring adoption and parenthood

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Trying has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Trying
  • What drives young women to risk it all in the MMA cage?

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Girl Fight has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Girl Fight
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.