Fake Facebook page posing as official Cork County Council account removed

A fake Facebook page purporting to represent an official Cork County Council website which featured "extreme right-wing material and racism" has been shut down.

A spokesman for Meta, the company which owns Facebook, confirmed to the Irish Examiner that it had removed it off its site saying it did so because it was “violating our policies.” The Irish Examiner understands the local authority contacted Meta as far back as last May expressing concerns that the site was styling itself as an official mouthpiece for the county council.

It was taken down from Facebook a couple of days ago despite the local authority seeking this action on around a dozen occasions since it first highlighted this issue.

Fianna Fail councillor Patrick Donovan, who also highlighted the problem, said he was glad to see Meta has finally taken action and removed the fake council page.

“However, it was unacceptable how Meta allowed this page continue to be so active after the council reported it multiple times.

"It shows that Meta isn't taking this behaviour seriously and it is deeply worrying to see such a slow response from Meta. There needs to be a much tougher stance taken to ensure that extreme right-wing material and racism have no space to grow on social media,” Mr Donovan added.

The fake page sported a council logo, which made it look authentic.

However, the logo was an old one and was replaced by the local authority on its authentic page some years ago.

A council spokesman said the local authority is aware that a Facebook group operating under the name "Cork County Council" is no longer available on the platform.

“The group was not operated, managed, affiliated with, or endorsed by Cork County Council. Members of the public are advised to obtain official council information only through the Cork County Council website and the council's verified social media channels,” the spokesman said.

He confirmed the council engaged with Meta regarding the matter “and will continue to monitor for any unauthorised use of the council's name or branding on social media platforms.”