A new report has exposed how overseas ‘bad faith actors’ are fuelling racist hate and fear in Northern Ireland.
Titled ‘Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland’, the study received its Derry launch in the Guildhall yesterday (Tuesday).
In compiling the report, technology organisation Rabble Cooperative examined several instances where anti-immigrant intimidation and violence has erupted in Northern Ireland in recent times.
Case studies looked at the riots which gripped parts of the North last summer as well as an incident in a school in Belfast in November. The triggering factor behind disorder on a housing estate in Lurgan and the subsequent unrest that flowed from it was also analysed.
Rabble Cooperative explored the relentless abuse suffered by our CEO, Lilian Seenoi Barr, since becoming Derry and Strabane’s First Citizen and Northern Ireland’s first Black mayor.
The aim for Rabble Cooperative – a tech company that carries out work for human rights organisations – was to determine the extent to which these incidents were driven by orchestration, disinformation and misinformation online.
In the case of our CEO, Mrs Barr’s appointment as mayor attracted the attention of several international conspiracy theorists including David Icke and USA Infowars presenter Alex Jones.
The Rabble Report highlights just some of the disgusting commentary she has had to deal with since taking over the chain of office.
One remark, posted on Twitter, suggested that she should be ‘dragged through the streets mid evil [sic] style and beheaded’.
Dessie Donnelly, who co-authored the report, said that it was not an isolated comment and that thousands of other similarly ‘negative’ or ‘malevolent’ sentiments were expressed.
Speaking at Tuesday’s launch, Mrs Barr said she accepted the role of politician came with a level of scrutiny. But what she has faced has gone far beyond that.
“I appreciate that scrutiny comes with the role but there is a line and that line has been crossed when legitimate political debate gives way to an orchestrated smear campaign rooted in racism, xenophobia and misogyny.
“This report draws that line with clarity,” she told those gathered in the Guildhall.
In its examination of riots which broke out on August 3, the report, which was commissioned by the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Unison, identified 35 accounts as having promoted it on Facebook with “relatively low” engagement.
The majority of those accounts – 69 per cent – could be characterised, according to the report, as self-identifying with Ulster loyalism.
However, social media engagement surged when the then Irish Freedom Party member Tracy O’Hanlon subsequently posted a promotional image of the event on X.
Tommy Robinson, former leader of the now-defunct English Defence League, then posted on August 2 – the day before the protest took place.
According to the report, those two posts garnered a total of more than 7,000 positive engagements and around 100,000 and 200,000 views respectively.
During the protest in Belfast city centre, a number of anti-immigrant protesters from Dublin joined the crowd – waving a tricolour alongside union flags.
A video of this was shared by Republic of Ireland-based anti-immigrant activist Mick O’Keeffe on X, achieving 5.7 million views. A second post by ‘Cillian’ which claimed Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland were standing ‘shoulder to shoulder’ against “mass immigration” accumulated 7.7 million views.
It was picked up by accounts in Britain, the USA, Spain, Canada, Vietnam, New Zealand, Mexico and Australia.
Mrs Barr said it was clear from the data who was behind the spread of lies and hatred.
“We must acknowledge how social media platforms, once seen as a tool for connection and learning, have become battlegrounds for hate, triggered by algorithms that reward sensationalism over truth.
“The report reveals that much of this activity is amplified by bad faith actors from abroad – from Europe, from North America and as far away as Vietnam – who seek to deepen division and spread fear.”
A number of recommendations have been made following the collation of the report, including the need for stronger political and civic leadership.
Mrs Barr added, “The report offers clear and practical recommendations grounded in international human rights law.
“It calls on public authorities and elected representatives to uphold codes of conduct, enforce existing rules against racist expression and actively challenge hateful narratives.
“This is not just a government issue. All of us – community leaders, civil society, educators, neighbours – must be part of the solution.”
You can read the full report here: Mapping-Far-Right-Activity-Online-in-Northern-Ireland-Project-Report.pdf