'Leave this planet': Twitter trolls rage after Neil deGrasse Tyson shares 'truthful' Pledge of Allegiance

Neil deGrasse Tyson prompted a flood of angry tweets on Thursday after posting what he considered to be a more truthful version of the United States Pledge of Allegiance.

"If the Pledge of Allegiance told the truth," the astrophysicist wrote on Twitter, along with an image that read: "I pledge allegiance, to the Flag of the Divided States of America. And to the PACs, for which it stands, one Nation, at odds, divisible, with Liberty and Justice for some."

The statement was retweeted more than 8,000 times, and favorited by more than 11,000 people. It ignited a backlash from some irate Twitter users, who didn't appreciate Tyson's revision.

Some Twitter users were simply dismissive:

While others were a bit more agitated by Tyson's tweet:

And the Jehovah's Witnesses even used his tweet as an opportunity to evangelize:

But Tyson himself appeared to endorse such trolling earlier in the day, with one condition:

A survey of replies to Tyson suggests that condition was thoroughly ignored.