A spoof fundraiser for Katie Hopkins has actually raised more than £14,000 for charity.
The page, which is titled “Help raise enough money for Katie Hopkins’ legal fees and libel damages” is actually raising money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.
An explanations on the JustGiving page, started by spoof website the Southend News Network, said: “On March 10th 2017, a court ruled that the amazing and beautiful Daily Mail columnist Katie Hopkins had libelled food blogger and poverty campaigner Jack Monroe on Twitter in 2015.
“This OUTRAGEOUS decision is set to cost Katie £324,000 in legal fees and damages.
“We believe that having to find such an enormous sum of money could jeopardise Katie’s glittering career in journalism, and we are not prepared to sit here and watch her disappear from our screens and newspapers!
“Therefore, we hope to raise the full £324,000 as a matter of urgency so that Katie doesn’t have to endure any financial hardship as a result of this massive injustice.”
However, it then goes on to clarify that the money will actually be going to The Trussell Trust, although the charity itself is not involved.
It appears that Hopkins herself is aware of the spoof campaign:
Hopkins has previously been high critical of food bank users, particularly singling out the Trussell Trust.
In a column for the Sun, she wrote: “In truth, they are not helping huge numbers of needy people. They are giving free food to dependents who have honed their blagging skills from years on the take.”
Citing Trussell Trust rules which claim no customer should be able to receive more than nine food parcels a year, Hopkins claims: “The idle become voucher tourists, moving around to score free nappies and deodorants they can flog for fags and booze.”
The Southend News Network has history when it comes to Hopkins too.
Last year, the outspoken broadcaster fell for a story featured on their site about the M25 being closed for a week because of a race.
On Friday, writer Jack Monroe won £24,000 damages in a High Court libel action against Hopkins.
Monroe, a food blogger who also campaigns over poverty issues, sued Hopkins over tweets they said caused “serious harm” to their reputation.
The judge also ordered Hopkins to pay an initial £107,000 towards Monroe’s legal costs within 28 days. The final costs figure has yet to be assessed, but some legal experts put it above £300,000.
He ruled the tweets had caused Monroe “real and substantial distress” and they were entitled to “fair and reasonable compensation.”