The recent riots in Dublin, which followed a multiple stabbing that was falsely attributed to Islamist terrorism by far-right agitators, have exposed the dark side of social media. A recent analysis of online posts featuring far-right and anti-immigration slogans such as “Ireland is full” and “Irish lives matters” revealed that most of them are shared by users outside the country, mostly from the UK and the US.
The far-right movement in Ireland has been growing steadily over the past year, building on anti-immigrant sentiment and leading to city-wide destruction. The far-right community in Ireland quickly claimed that the riots proved immigrants pose an inherent danger to Irish society. However, this claim is based on misinformation and propaganda, which are spread by far-right influencers from the US.
One of the most prominent US influencers who has been fueling anti-immigrant sentiments in Ireland is Nick Fuentes, the leader of the America First movement. Fuentes, who has been banned from several social media platforms for his extremist views, has a loyal following of young white nationalists who call themselves “groypers”. Fuentes has been urging Conor McGregor, an Irish MMA star, to “rise up” and “salvage the country” from immigrants. Fuentes said that Conor McGregor needed to “salvage the country because it’s either going to be the Irish or it’s going to be the blacks … only one side is going to come out of this alive.”
Fuentes is not the only US influencer who has been pushing elements of the great replacement theory, a conspiracy claiming that a globalist elite is working with Western governments to force out native populations through immigration.
Some experts believe that all of the attention that US far-right figures are giving to Ireland’s far-right community is now emboldening Irish figures to continue pushing their rhetoric. “In Ireland, this international attention appears to have been largely welcomed by far-right communities here who see such attention and promotion of their cause as a positive, and are drawing on this attention as further support for their campaign to target asylum seekers and migrants based on lies and falsehoods,” Ciarán O’Connor, a senior analyst with the Institute of Strategic Dialogue think tank, according to WIRED.
The rise in far-right activity and the spread of misinformation have led to a climate of fear and division in Ireland. The recent riots and the surge in far-right online posts about Ireland are a stark reminder of the power of misinformation and the need for vigilance in the face of divisive rhetoric. The far-right movement in Ireland, like the far-right in the US, has been fueling anti-immigrant sentiments in the country for years. However, the influence of US influencers on the Irish far-right is a new and alarming phenomenon, which poses a serious threat to the stability and harmony of Irish society.
Relevant articles:
– Majority of far-right online posts about Ireland originate abroad, research shows
– The Dublin riots shocked Ireland – The Guardian
– America’s Far Right Is Calling for Civil War in Ireland
– The complicated story of Ireland’s far right – MSN