Online misinformation and foreign interference fears for this year's elections

Government was warned in a diplomatic cable sent by the US State Department of the potential attempts by the Kremlin to meddle in elections here.

Online misinformation and the threat of interference from foreign actors are a source of significant concern ahead of this year’s local and European elections, Ireland’s media regulator has said.

Coimisiún na Meán executive chairman Jeremy Godfrey said a number of threats exist that can threaten our democracy including “manipulative practices, fake accounts, and hacking”.

“The integrity of elections, the integrity of civil discourse, is really important to society because that’s what makes us a democracy,” he told the Irish Examiner.

“When you look at what are the risks to elections, how can you make sure that for citizens, that their right to make free decisions about who to vote for isn’t being taken away from them through any kind of manipulation?” 

Mr Godfrey was speaking after Justice Minister Helen McEntee recently admitted there was “always a risk” of such interference. In November, she warned the public to be aware of where they access information amid a Russian threat of interference in these elections.

Coimisiún na Meán executive chairman Jeremy Godfrey said a concern also came in the form of hate speech directed at candidates in elections, and journalists, particularly women. Picture: Andres Poveda

It came after the Government was warned in a diplomatic cable sent by the US State Department of the potential attempts by the Kremlin to meddle in elections here.

“So you worry about misinformation, disinformation,” Mr Godfrey said. “You worry about [interference] whether it’s generated wherever in the world it is generated. It can be generated from overseas. You worry about manipulative practices, fake accounts, and hacking and leaking, you see all this kind of stuff.” 

Mr Godfrey said a concern also came in the form of hate speech directed at candidates in elections, and journalists, particularly women.

“There is an awful lot of misogynistic speech,” he said. “That kind of speech directed against participants in public life is very damaging. And sometimes people just say ‘I don’t want to put up with that’.” 

The regulator will be working alongside the similarly newly established Electoral Commission in the run-up to next year’s elections to help combat these risks, he added.

Dublin riots

In a wide-ranging interview, the head of Coimisiún na Meán also delved into the role his organisation played on the day of the Dublin riots in November, which came after a violent attack on young children and their carer in the city centre.

“I suppose from around Thursday lunchtime, we first found out about the stabbing incident,” he said. “And we decided that this was something that we needed to do something about.

“Our concerns were firstly there might be imagery of the incident itself that could circulate online. It could be damaging if children saw it, and damaging to the relatives of people who’d been hurt, and could actually result in the identification of a suspect. All those things are to be avoided.

“But then we were also worried that it could become a lightning rod for the incitement of hatred against ethnic minorities or incitement to violence. That is absolutely illegal content that will definitely fall within our regulatory remit.” 

His organisation engaged with the European Commission on that occasion because of the legally binding obligations the social media giants must adhere to at a European level, but, he said, a greater suite of options will be available to the regulator here in Ireland once they get legally enforceable powers in February.

“We have information-gathering powers,” he said. “There are transparency obligations [from social media firms]. We will be monitoring all the wide range of obligations in the online safety framework, but how platforms deal with hate speech is going to be a high priority.” 

Having been set up in March, Coimisiún Na Meán has been busy recruiting, having almost doubled in headcount to 75 staff since it was established. It hopes to reach 250 employees in the near future, as it takes on powers to regulate content on online platforms.

“Next year [2024] is the year we start delivering for the public,” he said. “To demonstrate we’re making a difference — that’s the key for next year. There’s only a point in us existing if the platforms change their behaviours to keep people more safe.”