Author and affiliation: Eileen Culloty, Ireland EDMO Hub at Dublin City University
Reviewer and affiliation: Liz Carolan, Digital Action
introduction
- The COVID-19 pandemic marked a major turning point for disinformation in Ireland as various conspiracy theorists, anti-establishment actors, and, in particular, right-wing and far-right extremists mobilised online and offline. However, the population as a whole demonstrated a considerable degree of resilience to disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines with high-levels of vaccine uptake.
- Right-wing and far-right extremists utilise disinformation as a tactic in their attempts to capitalise on national crises relating to housing, rent, homelessness, and the lack of accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees. They also use disinformation to oppose the advance of diversity and inclusion.
- Disinformation trends are heavily influenced by trends in the UK and US, which reflects Ireland’s status as an English-speaking country with strong ties to the wider Anglo-sphere.
- In response to these challenges, many civil society actors have organised to counter extremists, undermine disinformation campaigns, and promote media literacy. In addition, the government launched a multi-stakeholder working group, which will develop a National Counter Disinformation Strategy by the end of 2023.
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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of EU DisinfoLab. This factsheet does not represent an endorsement by EU DisinfoLab of any organisation.
This project is funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
