Rihanna has recently been drawing attention to herself on Twitter as she posts her take on everything from the World Cup to foreign affairs.

The Barbadian beauty tweeted #FreePalestine on her Twitter account, but immediately deleted the post. She is the second celebrity this week to tweet and delete the hashtag, prompting questions and condemnation from fans. The first celebrity to use the hashtag was Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets. Howard apologized on Sunday after he posted it on his account.

The pop-star tweeted the hashtag yesterday, before promptly deleting it eight minutes later. TMZ was the first to report the story, and according to the website, it was never supposed to be posted online.

Before the post was deleted, it had been retweeted more than 4000 times. Rihanna tweeted again several hours later, this time wishing for a peaceful end to the conflict.

Fans have since taken to Twitter to question why Rihanna took the original post down, with some suggesting that she was pressured to do so.

A social media expert at Queensland University of Technology says that just like members of the public, celebrities can make the mistake of tweeting without thinking when reacting to something that they feel strongly about.

Dr. Axel Bruns thinks that Rihanna's decision to delete the tweet was perhaps not the best strategy, as it leaves her open to accusations of pandering.

"It might be better perhaps to explain your views rather than just pretend you never had them," advised Bruns.

The Twitterverse is divided on the issue, with some praising Rihanna and Dwight Howard for commenting at all, while some have accused them of backpedaling on the issue.