Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland

The report identifies health as the most prominent topic of mis- and disinformation in Ireland, followed by Irish politics and immigration. It highlights the role of alternative media outlets like Gript and TheLiberal.ie in amplifying false narratives, and documents the use of conspiratorial tropes—such as the 'Great Replacement' and 'plantation' narratives—to fuel anti-immigrant sentiment and target political figures. The analysis also covers the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, climate change denial, and 5G conspiracy theories, noting a significant overlap between these themes and a tendency for narratives to be imported from international far-right movements.

• Health was the most discussed topic in the Irish mis- and disinformation ecosystem, accounting for 14.27% of the content produced between January 2020 and April 2023.
• Alternative media outlets Gript and TheLiberal.ie are central to the ecosystem; Gript was the most shared media platform for seven of the nine topics analysed and received 30% of all shares in the dataset.
• Discussions regarding immigration surged in late 2022 and 2023, with the term 'plantation' being used as a localized version of the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory to frame asylum seekers as an enemy force intended to replace indigenous populations.
• Irish politics was the second most popular topic (8.1%), with high levels of threatening and violent rhetoric directed at senior government figures, including calls for politicians to be sent to the gallows.
• Anti-LGBTQ+ narratives have increased significantly, with a 1571.5% increase in average daily posts from 2020 to 2023, often employing the 'groomer' slur to frame the community as a threat to children.
• Climate-related disinformation often frames environmental action as a 'culture war' or a 'climate lockdown' conspiracy designed by global elites to restrict individual freedoms.
• The Russia-Ukraine conflict (3.33% of content) saw the proliferation of pro-Kremlin narratives and the use of the sanctioned Russian state media outlet RT as a frequent reference point.
• 5G conspiracy theories peaked during the early COVID-19 pandemic, with some users encouraging the vandalism and arson of telecom masts based on false claims that the technology was linked to the virus.
• Conspiracy narratives involving the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the 'Great Reset' were the most popular within the conspiracy dataset, often linking these to a 'globalist' agenda for mass immigration.

APA

Gallagher, A., O’Connor, C., & Visser, F. (2023). Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Uisce-Faoi-Thalamh_Topic-Analysis.pdf

Chicago

Gallagher, Aoife, Ciarán O’Connor, and Francesca Visser. Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Uisce-Faoi-Thalamh_Topic-Analysis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gallagher |first1=Aoife |last2=O’Connor |first2=Ciarán |last3=Visser |first3=Francesca |title=Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2023 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Uisce-Faoi-Thalamh_Topic-Analysis.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gallagher2023uisce, author = {Gallagher, Aoife and O’Connor, Ciarán and Visser, Francesca}, title = {{Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2023}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Uisce-Faoi-Thalamh_Topic-Analysis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }