Government departments and public bodies should not advertise on X in light of Elon Musk's comments on Dublin riots - Senator Malcolm Byrne
Fianna Fáil Senator, Malcolm Byrne, has called for advertising campaigns by Government departments and public bodies on X, formerly known as Twitter, to be withdrawn in light of X founder, Elon Musk’s, comments on last week’s Dublin riots.
Last Friday, the day after the riots, Musk said that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar “hates the Irish people” in reference to legislation on hate speech. He also responded to a post stating MMA fighter Conor McGregor "should run for office" and "kick these losers out,” saying, “Not a bad idea.”
Senator Byrne said: “It is indisputable that misinformation on social media played a significant role in the unacceptable violence that occurred in Dublin last Thursday evening. Inflammatory language and hatred towards immigrants, combined with false information regarding the terrible attack on innocent children in Parnell Square, spread rapidly across all platforms, including X.
“X, formerly known as Twitter, either completely failed to adequately combat this misinformation and hate speech or deliberately chose not to. This, combined with Musk’s comments in the wake of the violence, is absolutely unacceptable for a social media platform.
“I know engagement is continuously taking place between Government and social media platforms, including X, on their facilitation of misinformation and hate speech.
“However, it is still the case that some Government departments and public bodies are running paid advertising campaigns on X. Musk’s comments are more than enough reason to now cancel these campaigns. The public can be effectively communicated with through social media channels that are not owned by somebody who makes comments that incite hatred and negatively impact Ireland’s reputation.”
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