The backlash over the regulation of short-term lets has reached an "irrational level" that has lost sight of the policy's humanitarian objectives, Shelter Scotland's policy leader has said.
Gordon Macrae said some of the language being pushed on social media by opponents of the scheme was indicative of a, "warped perspective about what is important to the individual and what is important to society".
It comes after Scottish Tory MSPs were photographed beside a placard that appeared to liken the short-term lets licensing scheme to ethnic cleansing.
Pam Gosal, who has shares in a property letting agency, and Roz McCall were both pictured standing with campaigners at a protest held by short-term let landlords outside Holyrood.
"The people who do have a voice are the ones who are making a lot of money from our broken housing system."
One woman in attendance was holding a sign that read: “Are you a pogrom parliament?” a reference to the Russian word, historically used to refer to violent attacks on Jewish populations.
The Association of Scottish Self Caterers (ASSC), who have been lobbying against the licensing scheme, responded quickly saying it did not organise the event and had “no control over attendees”.
"It shows you what coverage money can buy and I don't mean directly but in being able to organise and using words like pogrom," said Mr Macrae.
"It's got to an irrational level where we are losing sight of what the immediate harm in the country is now.
"It's less than two weeks since homelessness statistics hit a new record (Figures released by the Scottish Government show that there are now 29,692 households in the homelessness system – the highest level since records began).
"We seem to have a warped perspective on what's important to an individual and what is important to society", said Mr Macrae.
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"This shouldn't be regulations that are focussed on purpose-built holiday lodges. This is about properties that could and should be homes."
Short-term let owners have said the licensing scheme won't solve Scotland's housing emergency and Mr Macrae agrees.
"It's going to take a number of things," he said. "The short-term let legislation will have a big impact on a small number of areas. It's not a silver bullet but it is part of the mix.
"For us, the starting point has to be building more social homes if we return to the view that there is a role for the state to provide a basic level of housing, including for people in work and on low incomes.
"Those households are being pushed into the private rental sector.
"We've brought in new regulations to try and improve standards in terms of the tenancy regime which is all good but the unintended consequence of that has been to push more property owners into the short-term lets market. So now we are trying to regulate the short-term let market.
"It's just this whac-a-mole approach to policymaking," he said.
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He said most people would empathise with someone who has inherited a property and wishes to hold onto it to supplement retirement income.
"Part of the housing problem is the collapse of the pension system over the last few years," said Mr Macrae.
"What has happened in the last 20 years is that people thought this was an easy ride. It was an unregulated market and it became a bubble and at some point you have to deflate it slightly.
"You go to places like Edinburgh or Skye and there is no doubt that buildings that could be homes are short-term lets.
"It's not about any single individual, it's about - what do we want our housing policy to do. The sad thing is, Scotland's homeless people are the ones who don't have a voice in this debate.
"The people who do have a voice are the ones who are making a lot of money from our broken housing system."
Figures show Glasgow has received just 78 applications for licences under new short-term lets legislation. In Edinburgh, where the council believes there are 12,000 short-term lets, there had been 90.
"I would hope when things calm down people will reflect, is this really the best way to make their views known," said Mr Macrae.
"The people who are protesting outside the Scottish Parliament. They are not people with one property, they are people with a dozen or more properties.
"These are significant businesses that are having an impact on the local community. They feel under attack and that's not a nice place to be but we need to regulate this market.
"It's about the proportion of properties that were homes and are now being let out as short-term lets."
He said it was wrong that short-term let owners were being incentivised through the Scottish Government's small business bonus scheme, which offers rates relief to those who own just one property.
"Let's incentivise long-term leasing," he said.
"I think most people would like to see regulations brought in, in a proportionate and well-managed way.
"I think it's indicative of the heat that any suggestion that we change how the market is changed is met with a catastrophised level of concern.
"For us the the point is how do we make sure everyone in Scotland has an adequate home that is safe, secure and affordable."
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