The photo was posted to a 13,000-member Facebook group with the caption: “What do people think about this?”

Users in the Norwegian-based group immediately misunderstood what they were seeing and said the image was “frightening”, “tragic” and “scary”.

Another user suggested the allegedly pictured women could have “weapons and bombs” under their garments.

Their ludicrous reaction went viral when Facebook user Sindre Beyer, a long-time follower of the far-right page, shared them publicly.

In a post shared almost 2,000 times, he wrote: “What happens when a photo of some empty bus seats is posted to a disgusting Facebook group and nearly everyone thinks they see a bunch of burkas?”

Mr Beyer said: “The hatred that was displayed toward some empty bus seats really shows how much prejudices trump wisdom.”