Social media poses a 'threat to democracy' due to its role in platforming political harassment, according to researchers behind a new report.
In the five weeks leading up to the General Election, 55 incidents of threatening behaviour towards politicians were documented and analysed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Hope and Courage Collective (HCC).
A report published by the two groups shows that social media featured in 89% of these incidents.
'Threat to democracy'
ISD spokesperson Ciarán O'Connor said this should be seen as a 'threat to democracy'.
"There is again a significant online and offline interplay, in which acts of intimidation or harassment occur offline, are filmed and then shared online to garner attention," he said.
"This then has a multiplier effect of generating further cycles of abuse for those involved.
"Yet again, significant platform failings and lack of enforcement of community guidelines are enabling extremists to act with impunity, target candidates and threaten our demoracy."
Social media shortcuts on a tablet screen. Social networking app icons on smartphone. Social media concept.The platforms that were seen to host the most hate and harassment were X and TikTok, which together featured in 65% of all incidents examined.
According to the report, this may be as a result of 'permissive platform policies and unenforced guidelines', which could embolden far-right activists.
Targeted harassment
Executive Director of the HCC Edel McGinley said these results were 'extremely concerning'.
"This raises some ongoing questions about social media platforms' enforcement of community guidelines and standards and compliance with the Digital Service Act,” she said.
“The effects of sustained and repeated harassment cannot be understated and require a robust response from social media platforms, An Garda Síochána [and] the regulators.
"Along with a commitment in the new programme for Government to address any gaps or lacunas in law to tackle this.”
The report found the nature and scale of threats and harassment during the General Election to be 'markedly different' from the what was seen during the Local/European Elections.
In general, it was found that there was less on-the-ground targeting, with more efforts concentrated online.
