Michael Clifford: A strain of global populism is all the rage 

The populism is a response to decades of drift and mismanagement...and represents a dangerous environment where conspiracy thrives and right-wing extremists recruit.

Protesters clashing with Gardai during an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre. PA Photo. Issue date: Saturday February 27, 2021. Protesters clashed with gardai as they marched on Grafton Street and attempted to make their way to St Stephen's Green. See PA story IRISH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Damian Eagers/PA Wire

Once upon a not long ago, the saying went that a lie could travel around the world before the truth got out of bed. These days the same lie could be fitted out for a whole array of conspiracy theories and make it across the globe before the truth even beds down for the night.

We live in an age of disinformation, a contributing factor to the huge turnout for last Saturday’s lockdown protest in Dublin which culminated in violence. An estimated 2,000 people attended during a time of major restrictions. All reports suggest the majority, if not the vast majority, were there simply because of the lockdown.