Fake Cork council website posting 'vile' right-wing, racist, anti-immigration comments

It is understood Cork County Council complained to Facebook, but as yet the social media giant has not taken the page down or even tried to remove the toxic comments which are being posted on it

Some followers of the Facebook page said it seemed to have been recently 'hijacked', with several posts now containing what they considered toxic commentary. Picture: Denis Minihane

A fake Facebook page purporting to be an official site run by Cork County Council is churning out content including anti-immigration material, encouraging violence, and right-wing talking points.

The page looks as though it is the official site of the council, and is headed with its logo and coat of arms. However, on close inspection, it can be seen it is an old logo which has not been used by the local authority for several years, and has since been replaced with a newer version.

The page states it is a forum for feedback regarding service quality and any other issues under the remit of the council. It is understood the site originally became operational about 2010, but was not opened up by the county council.

It appears that for several years it carried normal commentary from community organisations and individuals about local authority issues and general messages about what was going on in local communities.

However, while some commentary remains benign, some followers of the page said it seemed to have been recently "hijacked", with several posts now containing what they considered toxic commentary.

The Irish Examiner understands the council complained to Facebook, but as yet the social media giant has not taken the page down or even tried to remove the toxic comments which are being posted on it.

Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Donovan said he was “shocked” to see this page operating under the supposed logo of Cork County Council.

“It’s bringing our organisation into disrepute by sharing racist, right-wing propaganda and vile statements under our logo. Every effort should be made to ensure this page is shut down permanently,” he said.

“In a world where people believe everything they see on social media, I would hate to think that there are people out there who think this is what we stand for.” 

Mr Donovan said the council needed to urgently issue a statement disassociating itself from this page, and every effort must be made to shut it down immediately.

"Cork County Council does excellent work via their official social media accounts highlighting the work we're doing the length and breadth of the county, and seeing a fake page like this being so active online is disgusting," he added.

A county council spokesman said it was aware of the matter but was not in a position to comment further at this time.