Monday’s Top Stories: Influence of far right on social media in Ireland growing, Israel claims Hamas tunnel found at al-Shifa hospital

Influence of far right on social media in Ireland has grown since pandemic, says report

The influence of the far right in Ireland is growing as tech companies, particularly X – formerly known as Twitter – fail to enforce their own guidelines against misinformation and hate speech, according to a new wide-ranging study of Irish online communities.

Researchers from the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) analysed 13 million posts from 1,640 accounts over the past three years and found misinformation is growing across all platforms, having originally coalesced around the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study, which was funded by the European Media and Information Fund, examined the spread of disinformation (information shared with the specific purpose of deception) and misinformation (information spread regardless of an attempt to mislead) by far right and conspiratorial figures in Ireland.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A screengrab from an Israel Defence Forces video purportedly shows the entrance to a Hamas tunnel under the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city. Video grab: IDF

Israel-Hamas war: Israeli military releases video it says shows Hamas tunnel at al-Shifa hospital: Israel’s military on Sunday released video of what it said was a 55-metre section of a fortified tunnel running 10m beneath the al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City.
Israel and Hamas close to deal over release of hostages, say mediators: Israel and Hamas were close to a deal that would see the release of a significant number of hostages held in Gaza in return for a temporary ceasefire and other Israeli concessions, Qatari and American mediators indicated on Sunday.
Una Mullally: Out of the horror of Gaza, a shared humanity is emerging: It can be difficult to consider or hypothesise about the long-term impact of what has been happening in Gaza, because the immediate situation is so pressing. The killing needs to stop.

News from around the World

Argentina: Far-right libertarian Javier Milei wins presidential election: Far-right libertarian Javier Milei has declared the “reconstruction of Argentina begins today” after a resounding victory in the country’s presidential election on Sunday.

The Big Read

Conor Pope writes that while bargain prices should be good news, Black Friday is dogged by question marks. Photograph: Alamy/PA

Conor Pope on Black Friday: Yes there are bargains, but don’t be fooled: Happy Black Friday Month everyone. Yes, we have reached the stage in our consuming evolution where an artificial sales window largely invented by a large British retail chain to encourage customers to gather in its shops to fight over cheap tellies for one day only, is now open for weeks before and after the big day.

The best from Opinion

Today's Business

‘Cautious’ Christmas planned amid concern over economic slowdown: Shoppers are likely to adopt a mood of “managed caution” this Christmas rather than implement big cutbacks in advance of a feared economic slowdown, according to a new report.

Top Sports news

Ken Early: Do Irish players have the humility and ambition to improve?: As the final whistle blew in Amsterdam, Virgil van Dijk raised his face to the sky and pumped his arms with joy and apparent relief. In the circumstances, his emotional reaction was a surprise. There had not been much suspense about the result or the fact that the Netherlands would definitely be going to the Euros.