{"id":901,"date":"2024-11-29T21:09:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T21:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/?p=901"},"modified":"2024-12-05T20:34:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:34:03","slug":"ge24-media-dynamics-more-attack-ads-aontus-political-satire-and-ogormans-old-tweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/ge24-media-dynamics-more-attack-ads-aontus-political-satire-and-ogormans-old-tweets\/","title":{"rendered":"#GE24 Media Dynamics: more attack ads, Aont\u00fa’s political satire, and O’Gorman’s old tweets \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aoife Barry reviews the media dynamics of GE24 for EDMO Ireland and FuJo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a three-week campaign, voting day has finally dawned. So how did the final week of campaigning look online?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As noted last week,<\/a> the first major attack ad of GE24 was launched to muted fanfare when Fine Gael took aim at Sinn F\u00e9in and its potential plans for the \u2018rainy day funds\u2019. Since then, the floodgates have opened and more attack ads have been cropping up. One of them even takes advantage of another of this week\u2019s most interesting moments, the viral video of Taoiseach Simon Harris speaking to Kanturk carer Charlotte Fallon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viral videos have been a thorn in Fine Gael\u2019s side during its GE24 campaign. At the start of the campaign, the party was heavily criticised over comments by Ryanair CEO Michael O\u2019Leary<\/a> about teachers during an event to endorse Peter Burke, a Longford-Westmeath candidate. It only took a few weeks before Fine Gael had another viral moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High profile party leaders like Harris are followed almost constantly by cameras on the campaign trail, and so potentially any moment could go viral. And while some other moments were shared online, this was different. The clip was shared widely on social media and even made the international press<\/a>. As we know, Harris ended up swiftly apologising for how he spoke to Fallon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One person who knew the power of the moment was Deputy Paul Murphy, the People Before Profit-Solidarity TD who cannily leveraged the moment for an attack ad<\/a>. Murphy used a clip of the encounter as a chance to accuse Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il of having the money \u201cto properly support disabled people\u201d, while not having \u201cthe political will to use it”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another attack ad came from Fianna F\u00e1il,<\/a> using a clip of its leader Miche\u00e1l Martin on the RT\u00c9 Upfront debate to go for Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s juglar. Its question: \u201cWhere was the Sinn F\u00e9in movement for the last 100 years?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Plantation\u2019 and \u2018open borders\u2019 claims<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

While the ads above are strongly worded, there are some ads in the past week that lean into anti-immigration talking points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As highlighted by The Briefing<\/a>, a Meta ad from Donegal Irish Freedom Party candidate Eamon McGee<\/a> uses the phrase \u201cplantation\u201d, which is linked to the Great Replacement Theory<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Irish Freedom party leader Herman Kelly claimed in this ad costing between \u20ac2K – \u20ac2.5K to place on Google<\/a>, that Ireland has \u201copen borders\u201d (more on Ireland\u2019s immigration system here<\/a>) and blamed this for the housing crisis. The ad was shown between 150K and 175K times (some viewers might have watched it more than once).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not an ad, Athlone candidate for Independent Ireland Noel Thomas claimed in a video shared on Facebook <\/a>that \u201cso many people coming into this country are getting everything for nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roderic O\u2019Gorman tweets resurface<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of immigration, a series of tweets posted in 2021 by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth resurfaced this week – despite previously surfacing and being clarified by Roderic O\u2019Gorman in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tweets in question were in eight different languages and referred to the publishing of a White Paper to End Direct Provision and to Establish a new International Protection Support Service on 26 February 2021<\/a>. This paper sets out a new approach for accommodating applicants that seek International Protection in Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2023, TD Carol Nolan asked the Minister in a parliamentary question <\/a>to \u201cexplain the thinking behind his decision in February 2021, to write tweets in 47 different languages publicising the report recommending the end of direct provision and proposals to provide “own-door” accommodation to asylum seekers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Gorman clarified that the tweets were in the most common languages spoken by people in Direct Provision at the time. He further clarified the phrase \u201cown-door accommodation\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201c\u2018Own-door\u2019 in the context of the White Paper does not mean an applicant is given possession of a property, it means the property provided by the state for temporary habitation to a person while their application for international protection is being assessed has its own door into a family unit, and is not a congregated accommodation setting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n


This week saw O\u2019Gorman\u2019s tweets resurface yet again. A video allegedly recorded by a woman being canvassed by O\u2019Gorman, in which she asks about the tweets, was shared by an Irish far-right X account where it was viewed 4.2k times and reshared 1.6k times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this video, the woman asks if people due to be accommodated near her home were \u201cthe ones that you tweeted and invited in eight languages\u201d. The reply to the woman is that \u201che never invited anybody\u201d and it is a \u201cfar-right rumour\u201d and \u201cthere wasn\u2019t any such tweet sent\u201d. The same video, reedited with new visuals and captions, was shared on YouTube, where it garnered 21K views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent candidate Philip Dwyer shared the video on X<\/a>, where it was viewed over 2.5k times. In one X post<\/a> (originally posted on TikTok) viewed over 13k times, the tweets were collated in a video and misrepresented as O\u2019Gorman \u201c[promising] migrants free accommodation\u201d – this video also contained audio from the video of the woman being canvassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Party candidate and sitting councillor Patrick Quinlan reshared an X post about the tweets, claiming that O\u2019Gorman said the tweets \u201cnever happened\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implicit claim by those criticising O\u2019Gorman\u2019s 2021 tweets is that they were a \u201cpull factor\u201d that led to an increase in asylum applications – despite O\u2019Gorman clarifying their intent and the meaning of the phrase \u2018own-door accommodation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irish language concerns<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Video sharing app TikTok doesn\u2019t allow political ads, but an interesting story broke during the week about a campaign group that submitted ads to TikTok that contained disinformation about voting. The ads were submitted in English (14) and Irish (14), and three of the English ads were approved while eight of the Irish language ads were approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the campaign group, called Global Witness, withdrew the ads before they could be published, it raised alarm over the fact some were approved in the first place. It also raised concerns about a potential moderation \u201cblind spot\u201d when it comes to the Irish language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TikTok pointed out that the majority of the ads were rejected at the first stage of moderation, and that it has its own dedicated in-app election centre. More on this here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political satire?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Political satire\u2019 was the reason Aont\u00fa shared a doctored image this week, The Journal reported.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doctored image of a poster of Taoiseach Simon Harris reading \u2018More Waste. Note, it Wasn\u2019t Me\u2019 was shared by both the party Aont\u00fa and its leader Peadar T\u00f3ib\u00edn on X on Sunday 24 November, with the claim that the posters were \u201cgoing up around the country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aont\u00fa itself told the PA news agency the posters were not real. A party spokesperson claimed that it was \u201cobvious to all that the poster depicted in Deputy T\u00f3ib\u00edn\u2019s tweet is satire\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Factchecks<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The final debate of the campaign took place on Tuesday, when presenters Sarah McInerney and Miriam O\u2019Callaghan grilled the party leaders<\/a> of Sinn F\u00e9in, Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il on RT\u00c9\u2019s Prime Time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Journal factchecked several claims made during the debate<\/a>, around public service pay restoration, inflation, energy price increases, carbon taxes and emissions, housing and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate factcheck highlighted how knotty some of the claims made by candidates in a live debate setting can be. On RT\u00c9 Upfront on Monday, Aont\u00fa leader Peadar T\u00f3ib\u00edn claimed that \u201cOne third of all hospitality outside of the M50 are currently in a contract with the state to provide accommodation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as this factcheck showed,<\/a> the situation was different – and even Green Party leader Roderic O\u2019Gorman, who countered T\u00f3ib\u00edn\u2019s claim on air, didn\u2019t get the figure exactly right either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media coverage and social media interaction<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

What were the main topics being covered in the media, shared online and reacted to online this week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Newship data which we gathered about the topics of cost of living, housing, immigration, public services and climate change, one topic garnered the most articles published between 22 and 29 November: housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The week began with housing heavily dominating, with between 70 and 80 articles tracked on Monday and Tuesday. But it took a huge leap on Wednesday, with over 157 articles published on the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change and immigration were the next most-covered topics this week according to our Newswhip data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for public interaction, it was immigration that dominated here. After a peak the previous Friday for housing (1.7k interactions), interaction dipped before rising towards Thursday. One of the biggest articles interacted with on Tuesday was from RT\u00c9, about the IRC being concerned that asylum seekers will be put back on the streets.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The topic of immigration, meanwhile, built from a slow start to peak at over 2k interactions on articles on Tuesday. But it quickly dipped again as interaction on housing took over. One of the articles with the highest level of interaction all week was a Gript interview<\/a> with the aforementioned candidate Noel Thomas about immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interaction on climate change articles stayed relatively steady, as did cost of living and public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Not so Blue Sky\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Finally, last week we looked at the fact most Irish political parties are not active on Bluesky<\/a> (seen by many as an alternative platform to X). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It transpires that some people are impersonating parties on Bluesky – including a fake Simon Harris account that warned people about spreading election misinformation. Read more at The Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aoife Barry reviews the media dynamics of GE24 for EDMO Ireland and FuJo. After a three-week campaign, voting day has finally dawned. So how did the final week of campaigning look online? As noted last week, the first major attack ad of GE24 was launched to muted fanfare when Fine Gael took aim at Sinn … Read More “#GE24 Media Dynamics: more attack ads, Aont\u00fa’s political satire, and O’Gorman’s old tweets \u00a0“<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/general-election.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":905,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions\/905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}