As Ireland prepares for its 2026 EU Council Presidency, ISD's new Dispatch looks at how foreign actors targeted Irish political and social issues in 2025—especially on migration and the presidential election.
After February’s tragic Tumbler Ridge shooting in British Columbia, online chatter quickly zeroed in on the shooter’s transgender identity. Within a day, anti-LGBTQ+ posts surged by 1000%—the largest spike in six months ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...
I had the opportunity to contribute to @immikesheridan.bsky.social's brilliant doc Amplified, on how US culture wars and extreme ideas are influencing Ireland. It's now available to watch on Apple TV, Amazon, and Google Play.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaFJ...
The spinelessness of our government is astonishing.
"The fascist enabling, CSAM-producing platform has some good features too, yanno?", is a hell of a take. Christ.
They need to be raked over the coals for this at every opportunity.
"It’s easy to see that politicians get rattled by moments of increased racist rhetoric which is amplified online. They react out of fear and some could argue cowardice..all evidence points to these actions facilitating their own cannibalisation by far-right parties."
New report out from us & the Hope and Courage Collective today, looking at online threats to electoral integrity in the recent Irish presidential election. In the report:
🔵 Online narratives targeting the legitimacy of election
🔵 The targeting of candidates
🔵 The use of genAI
Read more below ⬇️
A year ago (to the day), we released research documenting 60+ incidents of anti-migrant violence, harassment and intimidation over the space of 3 and half months.
Nolan was responsible for 40% of these incidents.
www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
Paul Nolan has finally been jailed. He has spent the last 18 months harassing and intimidating asylum seekers and posting evidence of his crimes online under his own name. Glad to see this happen but unsure why it took so long.
jrnl.ie/6827359
Fucking disgusting. Throwing the most vulnerable people under the bus to dodge taking any sort of real action on housing.
the place is overrun with empty and derelict homes and landlords are outbidding everybody and this loser minister targeting social housing www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-n...
Excerpt from the article: "The anti-immigrant activists also carried a flag of Jesus of Nazareth – possibly history’s most famous refugee - and Welsh-born immigrant, St Patrick, much to the mirth of onlookers, who posted dozens of bemused videos on Galwegian social media channels regarding the marchers’ misspelled ‘Galimh’ banner. United Irishmen, crowned harps, ‘Erin go bragh’ and Sacred Heart flags were also flown by marchers, who played songs by lifelong socialist, Luke Kelly, amplified through loudhailers. One woman was dressed up as Anglo-Irish nationalist and socialist revolutionary, Constance Markievicz."
"Visitors stage anti-migrant march in Galway"
Other journalists should take notes on reporting from Maxim Kelly.
www.advertiser.ie/galway/artic...
Had a great chat with @drmarkjacobson.bsky.social and Jim Ludes for their Active Measures Newsletter podcast about recent developments in anti-migrant activity, both in the Republic and the north of Ireland. Give it a listen here: omny.fm/shows/active...
On this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and I are joined by @aoifegall.bsky.social of @isdglobal.org for a conversation about recent online incitement against migrants in Ireland manifesting in real-world violence #disinformation #Ireland #propaganda.
omny.fm/shows/active...
Anti-migrant narratives are uniting longstanding foes on both sides of the Irish border, while far-right actors from overseas are seizing on the opportunity to spread dissent and polarisation 👇 www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
New from my colleague @disinfozo.bsky.social at @isdglobal.org examining the emerging alliances between Irish far-right groups (so called "nationalists") south of the border with Northern Irish loyalists and the British far-right:
www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
As we say in the piece, this cycle of online incitement resulting in offline violence is becoming alarmingly familiar and almost predictable for people who monitor online extremist groups. Social media platforms need to be held accountable for failing at the basics time and time again.
Research from us looking at how social media platforms once again failed to take action on content inciting violence in Northern Ireland last week
A rise in violent attacks—from US school shootings to stabbings in Sweden—resembles terrorism or extremist violence, but it isn’t actually driven by any ideology. ISD’s new Investigation explores the rise of nihilistic violence and the online communities fueling it. www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
Table showing most shared media organisations per topic within the Irish mis- and disinformation ecosystem with Gript garnering more than double the shares than the next leading outlet (Irish Times)
Worth reminding people that our 2023 landscape mapping of the Irish mis/disinfo ecosystem found that Gript is (by far) the outlet of choice for conspiracy theorists, racists and science deniers. Do you think this is because they uphold the standards & ethics of journalism? (Spoiler:it is not)
A survey-anyone site ranks cities.
A gambling site uses that output directly in a press release.
Media pick up the release, run headlines like 'Dublin among most dangerous cities in Europe.'
Twitter users add their spice - it ends up in the White House.
2025 infocycle.
www.rte.ie/news/primeti...
ISD’s latest Dispatch tackles the various ideologies, groups and figures found in contemporary Israeli far-right extremism. ow.ly/Y0RR50UEnT5
A worthwhile reminder that the far right does not need political support to cause damage. Campaigns of harassment, intimidation and violence will continue to take place long after the dust from this election has settled.
ICYMI: We released a joint investigation with the Hope and Courage Collective documenting 55 incidents of political violence, harassment, intimidation and threats during the GE campaign across a spectrum of activity. @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social @isdglobal.bsky.social www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
We've released a joint report with the Hope & Courage Collective that documented over 50 incidents of harassment, threats and abuse against candidates & canvassers during the #GeneralElection2024 #ge24 campaign. | @isdglobal.bsky.social
www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
Some top lines ⬇️
The lesson from the election should not be ignoring the threat of extremism because it's still widely unpopular but to continue to fight for unity in our communities to minimise it even further. Though, I'm not holding my breath for op-ed writers to see it that way.
With rhetoric mirroring the US “Stop the Steal” movement, claims of election fraud in Ireland’s local & European elections gained millions of views. ISD’s new report analyses the trends and how they may affect Ireland’s upcoming general election. ow.ly/Nc0c50UfOiv
