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.
Aoife Gallagher
@aoifegall.bsky.social
Senior analyst at @isdglobal. Previously, Investigations @ Storyful. Extremism, conspiracy theories, mis/disinfo Author of Web Of Lies: The Lure and Danger of Conspiracy Theories. https://www.dubraybooks.ie/product/web-of-lies-9780717195121 🇮🇪🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇵🇸
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...
A quantitative analysis of anti-LGBTQ+ hate after the Tumbler Ridge shooting
After the Tumbler Ridge shooting, a focus on the perpetrator’s transgender identity sparked Canada’s largest 6-month surge in anti-LGBTQ+ online hate.
isdglobal.org
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...
Trailer Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars
YouTube video by Harley Boo Productions
youtube.com
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.
Richard Chambers@newschambers.bsky.social · 8mo agoMy word. The Taoiseach, in China, says "platforms can be misused and abused or they can be used for positive reasons as well..." and says that should be considered carefully "before jumping to conclusions" on whether it's appropriate for the Government to be on X.
"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."
Any party that wants to win the next election must avoid the far-right trap
Catherine Connolly garnered 914,000 first preference votes, the highest number ever recorded for any presidential candidate in Irish history, by explicitly rejecting far-right narratives throughout th...
irishexaminer.com
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 ⬇️
Institute for Strategic Dialogue@isdglobal.bsky.social · 10mo agoAhead of Ireland’s presidential elections, ISD & H&CC found 172 false/misleading posts, as well as 43 AI-gen ones including a deepfake claiming Catherine Connolly’s withdrawal & the election’s cancellation. The brief urges tackling both harmful content & the algorithms that amplify it. More below.
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
YouTuber becomes first person jailed for posts exposing identities of asylum seekers
Paul Nolan, 36, stood outside an IPAS centre, goading and recording applicants.
jrnl.ie
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...
Irish Government plans to stop illegal immigrants getting free social housing
A new law banning the controversial practice is to be published in the Autumn and will be presented to the Dail in the coming months
irishmirror.ie
"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...
From Online Incitement to Real World Violence with Aoife Gallagher - The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast
This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson are joined by Aoife Gallagher, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, for a conversation about recent online incitement against migrants...
omny.fm
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...
From Online Incitement to Real World Violence with Aoife Gallagher - The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast
This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson are joined by Aoife Gallagher, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, for a conversation about recent online incitement against migrants...
omny.fm
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...
Emerging cross-border dynamics in Ireland's anti-migrant mobilisation
Anti-migrant sentiments have united former foes on both sides of the Irish border. Northern Irish Loyalists and Irish Republicans have voiced online support for each other and crossed the Irish border...
isdglobal.org
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...
Emerging cross-border dynamics in Ireland's anti-migrant mobilisation
Anti-migrant sentiments have united former foes on both sides of the Irish border. Northern Irish Loyalists and Irish Republicans have voiced online support for each other and crossed the Irish border...
isdglobal.org
Research from us looking at how social media platforms once again failed to take action on content inciting violence in Northern Ireland last week
Institute for Strategic Dialogue@isdglobal.bsky.social · last yr.After 2 Romanian teenagers were charged with an attack on a teenage girl in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, social media platforms were at the heart of a coordinated campaign of anti-migrant violence. Read ISD's analysis of an increasing pattern of online mobilisation translating into offline violence.
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...
Terror without ideology? The rise of nihilistic violence – An ISD Investigation
ISD examines how online nihilistic communities inspire violence and challenge terrorism frameworks built around ideological threats.
isdglobal.org
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...
McGregor's 'dangerous Dublin' claim traces to gambling site list
Conor McGregor appears to have based one of the key views he expressed during his St Patrick's Day White House visit on a ranking of European cities published by an online gambling company.
rte.ie
ISD’s latest Dispatch tackles the various ideologies, groups and figures found in contemporary Israeli far-right extremism. ow.ly/Y0RR50UEnT5
An overview of Israeli far-right extremism
This Dispatch covers Israeli far-right extremism, including Kahanism, settler violence, far-right parties, and groups, with a focus on post-October 2023 developments.
ow.ly
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.
Aoife Gallagher@aoifegall.bsky.social · 2y agoICYMI: 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...
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...
Investigation: Political violence, harassment, intimidation & threats during Ireland's 2024 general election campaign
A joint investigation by ISD and Hope and Courage Collective documenting violent and concerning incidents in the lead-up to Ireland's 2024 general election.
isdglobal.org
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 ⬇️
Investigation: Political violence, harassment, intimidation & threats during Ireland's 2024 general election campaign
A joint investigation by ISD and Hope and Courage Collective documenting violent and concerning incidents in the lead-up to Ireland's 2024 general election.
isdglobal.org
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
Analysing Claims of Electoral Interference During the Irish Local and European Elections
False claims of election interference in Ireland’s June elections failed to gain traction, but November’s general election may be a new opportunity for far-right activists.
ow.ly
Who’s behind a website and social media accounts ratcheting up support for anti-immigration candidates standing in Ireland? Read more here: dublininquirer.com/2024/11/27/w...
Who’s behind a website and social media accounts ratcheting up support for anti-immigration candidates standing in Ireland? - Dublin Inquirer
Set up in response to events in “the fall of 2022”, they’ve been seeking “digital canvassers” to back candidates listed on the website.
dublininquirer.com
TikTok approved ads containing harmful disinformation and voter suppression messages relating to the Irish general election, according to an investigation by campaign group Global Witness www.businesspost.ie/news/tiktok-...
TikTok fails to detect disinformation ahead of Irish general election, finds report
Global Witness said that there is a blind spot in TikTok's moderation system when it comes to the Irish language
businesspost.ie
With so many far-right candidates running, ‘rigged election’ conspiracy theories v. likely (eg. ‘illegals’ voting illegally; missing ballot boxes at counts) Crucial for media to find & rebut claims as lies *before* they go viral • robustly • concisely • swiftly #GE24
Aoife Gallagher@aoifegall.bsky.social · 2y agoNew research released by us today at @isdglobal.bsky.social reveals how false election interference claims in the June 2024 local and European elections in Ireland echo global conspiracy theories, threatening trust ahead of this week’s general election. www.isdglobal.org/isd-publicat...
"The use of generative AI surged among the country’s emergent far-right movement after riots in Dublin in 2023." We shared some research w/@theguardian.com about the use of GenAI among FR entities in Ireland. | @isdglobal.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
How the far right is weaponising AI-generated content in Europe
Experts say fake images raising fears around issues such as immigration have proliferated since EU elections
theguardian.com
New report by the smart people at ISD finds echoes of “stop the steal” before the the June euro and local elections in conspiratorial chatter about “voter harvesting”, “foreign interference”, and “polling station irregularities” www.isdglobal.org/isd-publicat...
Analysing Claims of Electoral Interference During the Irish Local and European Elections
False claims of election interference in Ireland’s June elections failed to gain traction, but November’s general election may be a new opportunity for far-right activists.
isdglobal.org