Sinn Féin must clarify party’s role in fake social media accounts – Higgins

The Sinn Féin leader must provide clarity on whether members of her party were involved in the fake Bsky account, and if she knew about it, a Fine Gael Minister has said.

Minister Emer Higgins said: “I am deeply concerned about a post tonight on bsky, which states that Ógra Shinn Féin members were running fake accounts in the name of Fine Gael and other parties.

“We reported an issue of a fake account on this site to the Electoral Commission today, and it has now emerged that Sinn Féin members may have been behind it.

“I sincerely hope that no member of Sinn Féin was involved with this, and that no one in the party leadership were aware of it.

“In this era of increasing misinformation and declining public trust in media, the operation of fake accounts during an election is extremely disconcerting.

“If it is true that the account was being run by Ógra Shinn Féin members for political gain, Mary Lou must outline what action she will take on it, and ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“Sinn Féin have already stated that they want to carry out a review of RTÉ’s coverage, and are widely known for their use of legal action to threaten journalists. If they are now using even more cynical methods for political gain, the Irish public deserve to be aware of it ahead of going to the polls on Friday.

“Misinformation is one of the biggest threats to democracy across the world, and any threats to this must be called out for what they are.

“Mary Lou McDonald must urgently make a statement on this matter and provide clarity on any Sinn Féin involvement in the accounts.”