Social media companies and platforms need to take more responsibility for the abuse suffered by politicians online, a Government minister has said.
Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick County Niall Collins, who is also a Minister for State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, said platforms “have to do a little bit better to try and control and moderate” the abuse of politicians.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Collins said he is targeted by people using fake accounts who have said they hope he “would die a painful death” from cancer and Covid-19.
Mr Collins’ comments come after retiring Fine Gael Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon said yesterday there is “coarseness” and “a toxicity in politics now that was barely palpable 20 years ago”.
Sinn Féin TD for Sligo-Leitrim Martin Kenny also told the programme social media is responsible for the aggressive political landscape experienced by politicians.
“Things have changed and there is a certain toxicity, coarseness and aggressiveness in the political dialogue that we see happening now compared to then. I think the biggest change has been the advent of social media,” Mr Kenny said.
He added: “Whole conversations happen online and can be much more aggressive and coarser than what would normally happen.
“People feel they can say stuff on social media that they wouldn’t say to your face. But now that has changed too, and people are actually starting to say things to your face.
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“They would call you a traitor, and they would call you a liar, and call you all sorts of things … in a very aggressive fashion.
“It’s a minority of people. The vast majority of people are still very respectful and don’t tolerate that kind of thing,” said Mr Kenny.
Mr Kenny added the last four years had been difficult for him and his family.
They moved from their old home after a car was set on fire outside of it, and after a man drove through the front gates of the same house.
“You’re nearly too afraid to say things online because you’re going to invite such abuse”
He added that abuse towards politicians has “become fashionable” and it is “almost a badge of honor to be unreasonable and to be aggressive”.
Cork-based Fine Gael councillor Susan McCarthy said threats to her life in person, and online abuse, had contributed to her decision not to run in the upcoming local elections.
The councillor received a written letter stating: “I have a bullet with your name on it and I can assure you I do not fire blanks”.
“I’m in politics ten years and I have seen a major, very, very marked difference in the level of abuse,” she said.
She added she felt she had lost her voice on social media because she was afraid to post online for fear of abuse.
“I have actually lost my voice as a public representative because you’re nearly too afraid to say things online because you’re going to invite such abuse,” said Ms McCarthy.
Mr Collins said social media is a source of abuse for politicians.
“It is a challenge. It’s something which I think people going into politics consider. It has a chilling effect,” he said.
“They have said things like, for example, during the pandemic, ‘I hope you die from Covid’ and ‘I hope you get cancer and die a painful death’”
“I know from my own involvement in the Fianna Fáil party, in terms of when we’re trying to find candidates, and speak to candidates, our potential candidates to stand in in elections for us, it is something which is to the forefront of people’s minds in terms of considering whether they will enter politics and the public space or not.
“What people experience like myself online is a lot of people who have online accounts where they’re not revealing who they are, or where they don’t present themselves with their own identity. They hide behind a fake identity or a bot-type identity online.
“They have said things like, for example, during the pandemic things like ‘I hope you die from Covid’ and ‘I hope you get cancer and die a painful death’. That type of stuff. But look, you have to be thick skinned in politics,” he said.
He added: “I’ve grown to get used to it over the years and that’s not excusing it or dismissing it. It is a concern. And I think in fairness, the big platforms have to do a little bit better to try and control and moderate all of this stuff.”
People Before Profit Solidarity TD for Dublin South-West Paul Murphy said people have a right to convey their views to politicians, once it is done in the right way.
“You have to distinguish between two things,” he said.
“First, you have to distinguish between things that are completely unacceptable … things like threats of violence, extremely personalised abuse, which in particular female politicians attract, or actual violence. Those things are not acceptable. We need to address them and they’re all things that are illegal,” he said.
He added: “Secondly, we no longer have a one-way kind of media ecosystem whereby politicians talk to RTÉ or newspapers or whatever and broadcast their views.
“Things are now two-way, whereby as well as doing mainstream media, you also put stuff out on social media and people have the capacity to come back there and say I disagree with you.
“But it isn’t a bad thing that people have the capacity to disagree, and it isn’t necessarily abusive or threatening or whatever for people to be able to disagree.
“I think that element of people publicly and vocally and robustly disagreeing with you is something that public representatives certainly need to just accept that this is part of politics today,” said Mr Murphy.
