Growing number of Irish TikTok videos show migrants being harassed and attacked

TikTok had not been widely used by those who organise protests, but this has changed in recent weeks. Picture: Kiichiro Sato/AP

A growing number of new accounts on the social media app TikTok are spreading anti-migrant misinformation among Irish users, with some videos viewed over 1m times.

In one case, a man whose face was shown on the app along with untrue allegations that he had sexually assaulted people at a Dublin children's hospital was later brutally attacked. The attack was also filmed and shared on TikTok.

An analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) shows that social media has been used to spread anti-migrant messaging in tandem with a wave of protests which has grown since December.

While TikTok, which allows users to post short videos, has not up to now been widely used by those who organise protests, the ISD says that has changed in recent weeks.

The think-tank analysed a sample of 20 viral TikTok videos from Ireland, in which migrants are confronted in public spaces, harassed, doxxed, and in some cases eventually attacked. Some of the accounts on which they originated have been deleted by TikTok, which employs 40,000 safety staff.

Of the 20:

• Nine of the videos make unverified claims of attacks and sexual assaults against women, men, and children, allegedly perpetrated by migrants;
• Of these nine, five videos claim that migrants had tried to harass or sexually assault children;
• In 10 videos, migrants are directly confronted by the person filming and their faces are clearly recognisable in the footage;
• Of these 10, three target Ukrainian refugees specifically;

Although the videos identified have been posted by accounts with a small number of followers (between 15 and 10k), they have amassed viewerships between 4,000 and 1.2m.

The analysis focuses on a number of incidents, including one from Tuesday, January 31, where a migrant who had entered Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin was brutally attacked on the streets after footage featuring his face was widely spread across TikTok and other social media platforms.

Videos from that day were overlaid with text accusing the man of having entered the hospital to rape children, and to have sexually assaulted staff and parents who confronted him. The man appears to have been filmed during an interaction with gardaí and after having been released from the Garda station. Two videos of the man being attacked were filmed and widely spread online.

Sources said the man is described by authorities as being a "vulnerable adult".

An Garda Síochána does not comment on material posted on social media and messaging apps "the content of which the authenticity, origination and context cannot be verified".

However, a spokesperson said the force is aware of "a significant volume of misinformation and disinformation currently in circulation on social media and messaging apps".

An analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue shows social media has been used to spread anti-migrant messaging in tandem with a wave of protests which has grown since December. Picture: RollingNews.ie

A spokesperson said gardaí at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station are carrying out enquiries in relation to certain matters reported by a member of staff at Temple Street Hospital on January 29 but that no arrests have been made and no offence has been disclosed at this time.

"Separately, gardaí at Mountjoy Garda Station are investigating an alleged assault which occurred at Dorset Street on January 31," said the spokesperson.

The ISD says that the impact of these videos is not limited to TikTok but results in real-world harm.

The spread of videos doxxing and intimidating migrants in Ireland has already resulted in real-life harm and the proliferation of fear and stigmatisation of migrants.

"It is worth noting that the spread of this content is not unique to TikTok. Increasingly it is proliferating across platforms, with material often copied and pasted from one to another, then used in these new contexts to further incite hatred against migrants."

A spokesperson for TikTok said: "Hate has no place on TikTok, and we remove content that contains hate speech or hateful behaviour. We encourage our community to report any problematic content to us in-app for review. We also encourage users who come across related content to report it to our Trust and Safety team via the app. 

"We have more than 40,000 safety professionals around the world who work alongside technology to help keep TikTok a safe home for our community. We continually invest in strengthening our enforcement efforts, including regular training on how to detect hateful behaviour, symbols, terms, and offensive stereotypes."