The term “disinformation” was first mentioned in the Oireachtas in February 1985 by Senator Katharine Bulbulia during a debate over the government’s decision to approve the sale of contraceptives.
Bulbulia recalled how a leaflet had been recently distributed which falsely claimed that minister for health Barry Desmond wished to make contraception available to young children which, she said, was “outrageous and untrue”. Disinformation, the deliberate production and promotion of falsehoods with the intent to deceive, has been around for some time.
Recently it has morphed into something more significant, a dynamic that could pose a threat to our democracy and national security. Fearmongering falsehoods about immigration are stoking hatred and fuelling extremism, contributing to an atmosphere in which arson attacks, threats against politicians and violent riots in Dublin are happening.
While the events in Coolock in Dublin this week result from years of social neglect and poor government policies, they should also be viewed through the lens of online disinformation. There are understandable reasons why some may oppose an accommodation centre for asylum seekers in Coolock. Not all protesters are mobilised by lies and propaganda. Yet, it’s clear others have been radicalised in information environments where inflammatory claims portraying migrants as inherently dangerous are common.
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In March, after news emerged that Coolock was being considered as a site to house 500 asylum seekers, initial protests were organised. From the outset, figures from the National Party and others who were instrumental in promoting and organising anti-immigration protests across Dublin became active in the area. An image posted by the party on March 24th shows people with a tricolour and signs reading “House the Irish! Not the World!”.
In the discourse shaped by ethnonationalists, migrants are often portrayed as naturally predatory, inclined towards criminality, recipients of preferential treatment (particularly in housing) over locals and part of a sinister, secretive plot by Irish politicians to replace white Irish people
Placards erected at a camp blocking access to the site warned that children were “under attack” from asylum seekers and their arrival signalled a new “plantation” of Ireland. During a protest, one speaker claimed the centre would house “unvetted, child-molesting Muslim males”. Last Monday, moments before an excavator and mattresses at the site were set on fire, people shouted abuse at migrants near the entrance, with one woman heard in a social media post screaming at them that they were “smelly b*****ds” and telling them “get the f**k out.”
On Thursday night, part of the building was set alight. As one person live-streamed the blaze online, they said: “Coolock says no and we mean it.”
Unsuccessful European elections candidate Derek Blighe suggested the fire might have been started by “State actors” to justify a “heavy clampdown” by gardaí, Government and media.
Social-media platforms have become megaphones with which to target migrants and broadcast conspiracy theories. For years Ireland’s growing ethnonationalist movement, whose proponents believe an orchestrated destruction of white Irish people is under way, has led efforts to blame outsiders for the nation’s ills. In the discourse shaped by ethnonationalists, migrants are often portrayed as naturally predatory, inclined towards criminality, recipients of preferential treatment (particularly in housing) over locals and part of a sinister, secretive plot by Irish politicians to replace white Irish people.
[ ‘At the heart of this is poverty’: How Coolock’s pressure-cooker finally explodedOpens in new window ]
In 2022, this messaging began to gain a foothold in communities that have long felt ignored by the Government over the depletion of local resources, housing shortages and poor communication. In this vacuum, blaming outsiders has been persuasive in making lots of people very angry. Online disinformation encompasses more than just the intentional spread of falsehoods. Campaigns aim to weaponise divisive issues and social fractures, exploit platform features to disseminate content and appeal to specific audiences. It could involve fake accounts, co-ordinated trolling, deepfakes or incendiary rhetoric designed to provoke outrage. There are a multitude of ways to conduct a campaign of deception online and nowadays anyone can take part.
Algorithms routinely silo people into echo chambers and recommender systems prioritise sensationalist, provocative and deceptive content.
Disinformation is used to activate latent prejudices, generate hostility and radicalise. If you are convinced your community is being “invaded”, it becomes easier to justify violence. It is an accelerant, it incites hate and fuels extremism.
Since 2018, there have been more than 30 arson attacks against buildings earmarked for asylum seekers. Last November, within minutes of a horrific stabbing attack in Dublin city centre, far-right agitators called for protests and helped instigate the riots that followed. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, often targeted over her department’s handling of immigration, was subject to a bomb threat in April. Anti-immigration protests were held outside Taoiseach Simon Harris’s family home and on the day his Government voted on the European Union Asylum and Migration Pact his home was also the subject of a bomb threat.
Technology companies in control of social-media platforms have largely taken a hands-off approach to tackling disinformation and extremism, prioritising audience retention and advertising opportunities over accountability
Last week, as Coolock saw vandalism and violence sparked by anti-immigration protests, masked men allegedly targeted asylum seekers sleeping rough in Phibsborough and at City Quay.
A man suspected of making online threats to shoot Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris following violence in Coolock has been charged by gardaí.
News reports suggest gardaí are beginning to examine whether terrorism charges could be applied to some offences such as these.
The consequences of all of this is polarisation in society, the erosion of trust in our institutions and poisoning of public discourse. Convinced their communities are under attack, some resort to extremism. Overall, social fragmentation deepens.
The events in Coolock are part of a wider trend in long-running efforts to use disinformation to sow anti-immigration hatred in the country, as documented in our analysis at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Technology companies in control of social-media platforms have largely taken a hands-off approach to tackling disinformation and extremism, prioritising audience retention and advertising opportunities over accountability.
It is hoped the newly minted Digital Services Act and its rules on content moderation and algorithmic processes will make platforms more accountable in tackling online harms. But while we wait for online enforcement, offline the atmosphere is increasingly charged. Any nation that regards itself as progressive must be able to balance the genuine concerns and needs of its citizens and dispel the darkest of lies that make enemies of migrants.
Ciaran O’Connor is a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a non-profit that researches disinformation, hate and extremism online
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