Then came a concocted row over Troubled Blood, the latest of the crime novels Rowling has written under the pen name Robert Galbraith. An early review mentioned a transgender killer; in fact, the killer merely disguises himself briefly in a woman’s wig and coat. Journalists around the world who hadn’t read the book credulously recycled the story. Pink News, which hadn’t received a review copy, ran forty-two stories about Rowling’s ‘transphobia’ in a week. Twitter allowed #RIPJKRowling to trend, and the threats and insults became ever more vile. It was the digital equivalent of a mob waving
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