December 2023. A baseless claim is posted to a Facebook community group. A far-right politician repeats the claim under privilege in Leinster House, without evidence. A website publishes the story, again without any evidence. This is how disinformation spreads.
To use an idiom from 1980s horror movies, the call is coming from inside the house. Some elected councillors, TDs and senators are already spouting far right talking points. Charitably, perhaps they do not realise they are doing this. But they are not all idiots. At least some one them are consciously and deliberately provoking hate and division for the sake of a handful of votes.
News media fall into the same trap. Again, sometimes the call comes from inside the building, repeated and amplified this time not for votes, but for clicks and ratings, whether deliberately and consciously, or simply because industry and business incentives encourage journalists, editors and producers to chase the heat for short term gains.
What can we do to combat this?
To begin, an RTÉ fully funded and index linked from the central exchequer (and that means without commercials)would create a national news organisation without the perverse incentives to chase cheap ratings.
It would be a start.
