AN ink-lover has told how their favourite tattoo backfired - with people left thinking they were a Nazi.

       The unfortunate scrawling was meant to resemble a cowboy astride a horse holding a lightning bolt above its head.

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       The mistaken inking is in fact a cowboy holding a lightning bolt

       But the poor recipient of the tattoo said they repeatedly get the branding compared with similar inkings belonging to members of White Supremacist gang, the Aryan Brotherhood.

       In a Reddit discussion about regrettable inkings, the user shared a picture of the tattoo in question noting the bad reception it brings.

       They said it is "often mistaken for a white supremacy tattoo" as they shared their misfortune.

       Users were quick to chime in on the discussion over the supposed links the tattoo could have.

       One user noted how gang members from the Ayran Brotherhood call the lightning bolt image "cracker bolts" as they suggested a possible reason for the bad reception.

       But another user said the bolts on Ayran Brotherhood tattoos are in fact the letter S.

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       They noted this is a reference to the evil secret police unit which operated in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, The SS (Schutzstaffel).

       But others were more sympathetic to the depiction, with one noting: "What's white supremacist about a lightning bolt-wielding cowboy?"

       The tattoo paraded by the Aryan Brotherhood is known as a Brotherhood Forever inking.

       According to the Anti-Defamation League, which holds a database of gang tattoos, the symbol is connected to a racist prison gang based in Tennessee.

       Prison officials in the US say it is also known as the Tennessee Aryan Brotherhood.

       Its symbol consists of its name above and below SS lightning bolts.

       Sometimes these may appear within an Iron Cross symbol or shield symbol.

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       The Brotherhood Forever tattoo depicts two S's in reference to the Nazi SS Credit: adl