A hub of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO)
Dr Shane Murphy from DCU FuJo examines key issues with TikTok and political advertising in light of the DSA and EU Code of Practice on Disinformation. The recent European parliamentary elections were the first to take place since the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) came into effect in February 2024. The DSA requires large social … Read More “TikTok’s Struggle with Political Advertising” »
As part of a series on the European and local elections, Dr Shane Murphy examines how narratives about voter fraud evolved, often with no regard to rules about voter eligibility. A recent article by Ciaran O’Connor, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, looked at how the Far Right in Ireland were laying the … Read More “Elections 2024 Analysis: Allegations of election interference” »
Shane Murphy examines how the campaiging style of the National Party differs from other far-right, anti-immigrant parties. Immigration becoming the primary concern for Irish voters is something that would ordinarily have been expected to benefit the National Party, who formed in 2016 on with an explicitly anti-immigration platform. In the Midlands Northwest constituency for the … Read More “Elections 2024 Analysis: The National Party – a different kind of party?” »
Ahead of the European and local elections, Dr Shane Murphy examines the eye-catching use of graphics and AI by The Irish People party. The Irish People are a newly formed nationalist political party currently running candidates in both the European and local elections. They do not view themselves as a party in the traditional sense, … Read More “Elections 2024 Analysis: The Irish People’s Campaign Graphics” »
With a week of campaigning before the European and Local elections, Dr Shane Murphy profiles the parties running on an anti-immigration platform and considers the nature of anti-immigration rhetoric. A recent poll conducted by The Journal and Ireland Thinks has found that “Independents and Others” have surpassed Sinn Fein as the number one choice for … Read More “Elections 2024 Analysis: Profile of Anti-Immigration Parties” »
Ahead of the European Elections, Dr Shane Murphy examines the rise of citizen journalists. While not necessarily household names, a number of candidates in the upcoming European and local elections began this campaign with sizable social media followings, as a result of their work as “Citizen Journalists”. Focusing predominantly on areas such as immigration, LGBTQ+ … Read More “Elections 2024 Analysis: Citizen Journalists and the European Elections” »
Dr Eileen Culloty of Dublin City University appeared on the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast this week to unpack the growing debate around disinformation and the challenges of regulating harmful content online. The episode, titled “Is the disinformation label useful anymore?”, explored how the term “disinformation” is increasingly weaponised in political discourse and misunderstood in … Read More “EDMO Ireland Disinformation Expert Warns Against Politicisation of ‘Disinformation’ Label” »
As the 2024 European Parliament elections approach, millions of Europeans will play a crucial role in shaping the future of European democracy by voting. At the same time, widespread disinformation campaigns intended to undermine the electoral process have been detected across the EU. In response to this pressing challenge, EDMO and the EDMO Hubs launched … Read More “New EDMO campaign: Be Election Smart” »
TheJournal.ie has launched a new website called Knowledge Bank to help readers in Ireland better understand complex and controversial news topics — and to recognise the tactics used in the spread of misinformation. Available at factchecking.ie, the site offers explainers, myth-busting guides, and a practical toolkit with videos and tips on verifying images, spotting false … Read More “TheJournal launches Knowledge Bank to tackle misinformation and explain complex news” »
Writing in The Conversation, Eileen Culloty considers concerns about the role of deepfakes in upcoming elections. In 2016, disinformation caught many people off guard during the Brexit referendum and U.S. presidential election, prompting the emergence of an industry dedicated to analyzing and countering it. Despite extensive research, fact-checking initiatives, and government involvement, the issue remains … Read More “Deepfakes and Elections” »
