Fianna Fáil presidential hopeful Jim Gavin has spoken out against circulating social media content about him, asserting that neither his loved ones nor friends should have to endure online harassment or slander, reports RTE.
A statement released through Fianna Fáil describes the posts as harmful and malicious attacks.
Mr Gavin has reached out to both social media platforms and Coimisiún na Meán regarding the matter, reports RTE.
He claims a surge of online stories about him in recent days are “invented and utterly false”.
Mr Gavin confirmed that he has contacted X, TikTok, and Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. While Meta has reportedly removed several offending posts, he stated that there has been no reply from X or TikTok, reports RTE.
“I refuse to accept that the price of participating in public life should involve having to put your family and friends through waves of online abuse and malicious smears. This is not the cost of service – it is a failure of our digital culture,” reports RTE.
According to Mr Gavin, the spread of false information online is becoming a significant issue.
“Every person in our country knows the real and growing threat posed by online hate and disinformation. It is one of the forces driving the growing division and conflict in many societies. It is the cause of mental health issues amongst our young people due to online bullying and harassment. I will continue to take whatever action is necessary to confront this appalling feature of social media. We all need to call it out for what it is: totally unacceptable. Social media companies must do far more to protect people from such nasty and destructive behaviour online,” reports RTE.
RTÉ has reviewed the material from the social media posts that Mr Gavin has raised concerns about.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
