Interesting to see that DeepSeek also self-censors when you ask it relatively straightforward questions about Ireland on subjects it doesn't like...

Heads up if you're looking for #StormÉowyn updates here today that Met Éireann say the account posting as @meteireann.bsky.social is fake.

Ads for deepfake ‘nudify’ apps have started to pop up in the feeds of Irish Facebook users in the past few weeks. The apps allow users to create non-consensual nude images by letting users upload photos to "erase" women's clothing using AI.

"Several fact-checkers over the years have suggested to Meta how it could improve this labeling to be less intrusive and avoid even the appearance of censorship, but Meta never acted on those suggestions." -- @factchecknet.bsky.social www.poynter.org/ifcn/2025/an...

"There is irony in Zuckerberg branding US fact-checkers as being “just too politically biased” in a statement that, in both timing and explicit alignment, hints strongly at political expediency." @susandaly.bsky.social @factcheck.thejournal.ie

The US government has branded Dublin's 2023 riots as "white identity terrorism", carried out by Irish white supremacists and ultranationalists. Report by our journalist @trishdevlin.bsky.social http://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-riots-white-identity-terrorism-6589040-Jan2025/

The evacuation of Connolly Station in Dublin yesterday immediately led to a spate of false claims and unfounded speculation online about what had happened. Some social media users suggested it had something to do with foreign nationals or asylum seekers. www.thejournal.ie/debunked-fac...

Join @gavreilly.com tonight at 10pm: - Dangerous cold snap - Will next gov abandon green agenda? - Meta scraps fact checking Timmy Dooley TD, FF Minister Malcolm Noonan Francie Gorman, IFA President Prof John Sweeney, Climatologist Sarah McGuinness, Irish Daily Mail + @stemcdermott.bsky.social

🚨In Nature🚨 Meta is dropping fact-checking to avoid anti-conservative bias- but is there actually evidence of bias? We this test empirically & find that conservatives * ARE suspended more * BUT share more misinfo So suspension isn't necessarily evidence of bias www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Meta has announced that it's ending its third-party fact-checking programme in the US and replacing it with Community Notes (as are seen on X). It means third parties - like @factcheck.thejournal.ie - will no longer be able to flag misinfo on Facebook, Instagram or Threads in the US.

Ireland's decision to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and Israel’s subsequent decision to close its embassy in Dublin have been surrounded by false claims about the Irish government’s position on the war in Gaza. www.thejournal.ie/israel-claim...

See the incentives at play here in the influencer economy … a great communicator with a tight focus sees the YouTube data … moves into the “secret knowledge” that trigger the dark sides of our brains … monthly views have increased from nine million to 15 million. www.bbc.com/news/article...

More bad news in the courts for Ireland's far-right election candidates yesterday. Kim McMenamin of The Irish People lost a defamation case against Peter Casey: jrnl.ie/6569277 And Paul Fitzsimons of the Irish Freedom Party was accused of knife possession and threatening a Garda: jrnl.ie/6569547

Brilliant new investigation from @trishdevlin.bsky.social on coastal erosion putting many homes at risk of falling into the sea.

Kerry far-right election candidate and personality Michelle Keane was jailed yesterday for contempt of court over social media posts (which usual suspects are comparing to Enoch Burke's case). Understanding is that she has already appared back in court to purge her contempt this morning.

There appear to already be a lot of fake Instagram accounts posing as Luigi Mangione, the man arrested in Pennsylvania today over the killing last week of the United Healthcare CEO in New York.

Amid scenes of prisoners being freed in Syria, incl. from the "human slaughterhouse" at Sednaya, read Anne Barnard's investigation based on the Caesar files exposing systematic torture and extra-judicial executions by the Assad regime. (Gift article) www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/w...

In 2020, no far-right candidate in Ireland won more than 2% of first preference votes in an election; this time around, the figure had risen to 20. This week's (final) FactCheck election newsletter looks at why Ireland's far-right failed - but failed better - in #GE24.

The annual Bohs effort to get a toy to every child in direct provision in Ireland is a wonderful thing. Donations and info here: gofund.me/ee17f8fe

Conspiracy theories that the general election result was rigged or manipulated are being spread by far-right candidates who failed to gain seats in the 34th Dáil. It follows similar claims of vote-rigging during and after the local and European elections in June.

I know it's a big ask, but we need help getting CouncilTracker.ie back online to show how Dublin city councillors vote. counciltracker-fdecc5cce045.herokuapp.com/motions We need to add a system so we can update the line-up of councillors as it changes. github.com/DublinInquir... Can anyone help? 🙏

Irish Freedom Party leader Hermann Kelly is out in Count 14 in Louth with 3,608 votes. Means all far-right candidates have Ní been eliminated from #GE24

Latest on the far-right in #GE24: - 69 candidates eliminated - 9 candidates are still in the running.

🧵A Day 2 update on how far-right candidates are doing in #GE24. Some high-profile names have fallen this morning, including Independents Gavin Pepper (Dublin North-West), Dolores Webster and Phil Sutcliffe (Dublin South Central) and Stephen Kerr (Mayo)...

I am biased obvs but @thejournal.ie’s count centre is very handy and very addictive. Possibly because the first page feels like popping bubble wrap. You’ll find it in our app or here www.thejournal.ie/section/ge24/

Because Ben Gilroy has been eliminated in three constituencies without hitting a quarter of the quota in any of them, he will lose all three of his deposits at a cost of €1,500 #GE24

Three far-right candidates eliminated on the first count of #GE24 in Fingal West: - Ben Gilroy (Liberty Republic) with 417 votes (finishes 9th of 12) - John Oakes (Irish Freedom Party) with 392 votes (10th of 12) - Mark Joseph Parsons (Irish People) with 157 votes (11th of 12)

A bit rough and ready, but will be doing an initial projection from tallies here. I'll start populating this in the next few minutes docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

🧵 How far-right/National Alliance candidates are doing based on mid-morning tallies #GE24. These will likely have changed by the time most people read them, but give an indication of the state of play this morn. Have also omitted some candidates in constituencies where no data was available yet.

(Wo)manning our #GE24 liveblog today, stay with us for the latest updates

Irish far-right accounts on X have already started to seed a 'stop the steal' narrative around #GE24 - this time it's more focused on ID fraud than the 'foreign interference' claims we saw during the locals and Europeans in June (though there are still efforts to push that narrative too).

Ok folks, let’s get organised & use BSky’s best feature for #Election24 Some lovely soul has created a *CUSTOM FEED* for the election count - a tab on your homepage that will have all the #GE24 content - you need to *click here & then “pin feed”* bsky.app/profile/did:...

2/ We are working behind the scenes to help many organizations and high-profile individuals set up their verified domain handles. In the meantime, we’ve updated our impersonation policy to be more aggressive. Impersonation and handle-squatting accounts will be removed.

Great initiative by Bohs to sort out the Block A/Block G nonsense early

Back with my three screens for another live fact-check of RTÉ PrimeTime's leaders' debate for @thejournal.ie. Follow the results on our debate liveblog (with possible updates here on ad breaks): jrnl.ie/6553711t #GE2024

This argument would make X the Data Controller- and publisher- of everything posted on the platform, liable under both GDPR and defamation laws in every country for every post. This is a no-lose filing.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Soc Dems and Aontú have all confirmed to me that Bluesky accounts posting under their names are fake. Have also spotted two fake profiles of Micheál Martin and another one of Simon Harris (that actually warns people about fake accounts on Bluesky). jrnl.ie/6553055

New report from @isdglobal.bsky.social outlines how Irish groups tried to push a 'stop the steal' narrative around the European and local elections in June. Claims peaked after the broadcast moratorium, and the vast majority centered on false allegations of 'foreign interference'. jrnl.ie/6552889

Analysis by @foeireland.bsky.social has found that the three leading parties fail when it comes to how progressive their climate policies are. While progress has been made, the group said, the proposals are 'weak'. Read more below on @thejournal.ie: www.thejournal.ie/three-leadin...

Either that's a fake Micheál Martin profile (that's not how the Tánaiste spells his first name), or his choice of handle has already been taken by an impersonator...

Sinn Féin claimed that Fine Gael's #GE24 manifesto pledges half a billion Euro to landlords. We rated their claim as true. Read why below: jrnl.ie/6549182t

Latest edition of the special #GE24 edition of the @factcheck.thejournal.ie newsletter is due to land in inboxes today, and looks at what each party has pledged to do about misinformation in their manifestos (if they pledge anything at all). Sign up below:

Great idea from Premier Sports - Matt Cooper will host a live TV debate next Monday night at 8pm solely on sports policies. Will feature Thomas Byrne (FF), Neale Richmond (FG), Shane O'Brien (SF), Darragh Moriarty (Labour)

There's fact-checking, and there's ASAI complaints...

Anything to be said for another starter pack? Here's a list of our journalists, and we'll keep it updated as more join the platform. go.bsky.app/CyjRBBf

Hello to our new followers 👋🏻 Did you know we have a monthly newsletter about misinformation trends in Ireland? We're currently publishing weekly editions for #GE24, with updates on our efforts to fact-check the election and its different narratives. Sign up at the link below: jrnl.ie/6523527t

Me and my three screens will live fact-checking tonight's RTÉ leaders' debate for @thejournal.ie. The results will appear on our debate liveblog (and possibly here, depending on how quickly I can type) over the course of the next 2 hours or so. Follow along here: jrnl.ie/6545327t #GE2024

The Journal’s FactCheck team has been busy interrogating various claims made during the general election campaign. Ahead of tonight’s leaders’ debate here’s a sample of some of the work we’ve been doing.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told a meeting of the IFA this week that carbon tax has not led to a reduction in Ireland's CO2 emissions. The Journal rated her claim as false. jrnl.ie/6541256

FactFind: What professions are over-represented and under-represented in the Dáil? jrnl.ie/6541359