Ceann Comhairle urges action on fake social media accounts and false narratives

By Rebecca Black, PA

Fake profiles on social media spreading false narratives must be tackled for the safety of all in society, the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil has said.

Verona Murphy described an increase in the number of, veracity and severity of threats against elected representatives.

But she said the issue goes across society, including children being bullied online.

Tánaiste Simon Harris recently spoke out about “threats of appalling, unspeakable violence” against members of his family.

In a statement to the Dáil last week, Ms Murphy referred to an alarming rise in serious threats against elected representatives, “challenges” posed by unverified accounts on social media, and requested a meeting with party and group leaders on how best to address the matter.

Appearing on The Week In Politics on Sunday, she described her role as also effectively the “shop steward” for the members of the Dail.

“This is an issue that affects the wider public, I still have a very busy constituency office and we deal with this issue day in and day out,” she said.

“In the months since being elected to Ceann Comhairle, it has come to my attention the vast increase and the veracity and the level of threats to members, and it’s a phenomenon now I don’t believe we can ignore any longer.

“My proposal is to bring the leaders to the table and hopefully neutralise this as a political issue.

“I think this is something we need to advance legislatively in order to safeguard the public as a whole.”

Ms Murphy said she would like to see new laws to address fake profiles on social media.

“This has nothing to do with free speech, I think the reality is that what is happening is that we have a vast increase in the number of fake profiles across all online platforms, they can literally promote false narratives and because we can’t identify them, we can’t do anything about it,” she said.

“Under the Constitution, we have an obligation in which to vindicate the rights of every person, and their right to a good name, and whereby that is affected we must have legislation in place that deals with that as remedy.

“We have children in schools who are being affected by online bullying to the extent of where they are suicidal.

“We only have to look across the water, on either side of this country, to see where this can lead if we don’t deal with it.”

Meanwhile, the Ceann Comhairle said everyone has “moved on” since she became the focus of a confidence vote last April.

The Opposition initially proposed a no-confidence motion in the new Ceann Comhairle amid a heated row based on speaking rights and the circumstances of the formation of the coalition.

However, the Government went on to bring and win a vote of confidence in her by 96 votes to 71, with two abstentions.

Over a year on, Ms Murphy said people have now moved on.

Asked if she is happy she has now won the confidence of members of the Opposition, she said: “I’ve certainly moved on, and we’ve all moved on.

“There is a body of work to do and my job is to ensure the House operates so we can manage democracy essentially.”

She said her call for stronger legislation to protect against a rise in serious threats against elected representatives is an area for all to work on together.