Tom Morello criticised for '10 Nazis at the table' quote

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello has been criticised for posting an anti-Nazi quote online.

On Thursday, the 59-year-old rocker posted a quote to his Twitter account which read, "German saying: If 9 people sit down at a table with 1 Nazi without protest, there are 10 Nazis at the table."

The New York Post translated that the guitarist was attempting to say, "Those who politely engage with people who demonstrate hateful behaviour are complicit in their bad acts."

Tom was later accused of fascism and intolerance by fans.

"While that sounds principled, it isn't," one Twitter user replied. "It's a mechanism to stop conversation. 9 people can sit down at a table with 1 Nazi and talk and educate said single Nazi on the issues and the truth with evidence and convert that Nazi. It's called diplomacy."

"So do you think it's impossible to politely converse with someone to change their mind?" another asked, while one commenter queried whether Tom considered Trump supporters to be Nazis.

Tom and his band Rage Against The Machine have previously made headlines for their socialist political views.

The musician has not as yet responded to the backlash.