Cianan Brennan: How far-right misinformation hijacked a tragedy in Carlow

Misinformation spread rapidly online after the Carlow shooting. Despite Gardaí efforts, far-right figures amplified false claims to huge audiences

Forensic investigators at Fairgreen Shopping centre in Carlow where a man died following a shooting on Sunday evening. Far-right ideologues and failed political candidates, Derek Blighe and Philip Dwyer, passed comment on the incident.  None of them could possibly have known what had happened, because it takes time to sift evidence.  Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Online information in 2025 moves at speed. 

But the tragic events in Carlow on Sunday, where a gunman opened fire in a shopping centre, appear to sum up the perils of unregulated social media discourse, and what State bodies like the gardaí can try to do to mitigate it.