Washington Post reporter Philip Bump faced a deluge of criticism on social media after he wrote an article that angered Bernie Sanders supporters, with one troll even posting his home address on Twitter.

One of Sanders’ more common campaign lines is that the average donation to his coffers is only $27, a testament to his grassroots support. Bump was interested in whether or not that was actually true, and calculated that the real number was probably a little higher, closer to $29.

The actual body of the piece was fairly neutral, not accusing Sanders of any sort of falsehood. But the provocative headline– “Bernie Sanders keeps saying his average donation is $27, but his own numbers contradict that”— angered Sanders supporters, who saw it as a pointless and petty hit job.

Needless to say, they let Bump know how they felt. “By the end of the day, I’d received thousands of negative tweets, negative comments on Facebook, and any number of emails…” Bump wrote Tuesday. “Someone called my editor to complain. Someone else posted my home address on Twitter.”

“Neither I nor anyone else writing critically about Sanders deserves the sort of response that has been received,” he said. “No, Twitter isn’t life. But irrational fury that leads to abusive behavior isn’t the sort of thing that should be ignored.”

[Image via screengrab]

——

>>Follow Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) on Twitter

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com