Researchers monitoring a suspected online bot network which had been active during the UK general election noticed something strange last month.
The accounts had seemingly been set up for the sole purpose of posting conspiracy theories and disinformation about major world events. They appeared to be operated by real people, living ordinary lives, but were able to post hundreds of times a day.
In mid-July the majority of these bots abruptly shifted focus from the UK to Ireland, specifically the anti-immigration protests and disorder taking place in Coolock outside a site earmarked for asylum-seeker accommodation.
Starting on July 15th, a collection of 26 accounts on X, previously Twitter, started posting incessantly about the north Dublin area despite never having shown any interest in Irish affairs previously.
Over the course of a few days’ unrest, these 26 accounts posted about Coolock 840 times. The posts contained all the usual slogans which have become associated with anti-immigration protests: “Ireland for the Irish”, “Irish lives matter”, “Ireland is full”.
According to the research from Global Witness, an international non-profit focused on human rights, this was classic bot-like behaviour; a collection of accounts, many created just recently, posting dozens of times a day about a divisive issue to which they had no apparent connection.
“In a moment when everyone is worried about democracy, it is shocking how easy it has been to find accounts that appear to be bots spreading division around the UK vote, and then to watch them jump straight into political discussions in the US and Ireland, frequently responding with hate and conspiracy,” said Ava Lee of Global Witness.
Soon, the suspected bots moved on to other issues such as the ongoing turmoil in the US presidential election. Currently, a number of them are focused on posting conspiracy theories and anti-migrant sentiment in relation to the violence in Southport in the UK following the fatal stabbing attack on children there last Monday.
But for a time, they were instrumental in broadcasting false information and skewed narratives about Coolock to an international audience of millions.
That some person or persons decided to divert the focus of their bot networks to Ireland is no surprise. In recent months, Irish anti-immigration protests have become a cause celebre for the international far right, with extremist figures in the US, UK and European Union offering support, funds and advice to their Irish counterparts.
The trend started in earnest following the Dublin riots last November when figures such as Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon portrayed the violence to their audiences as a case of ordinary Irish people “fighting back” against unwanted immigration.
Various other anti-immigration protests and clashes with gardaí, such as in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, saw huge numbers of social media posts spreading false narratives and driving division, with a large proportion originating from outside Ireland.
In the months since, ever more extreme figures have been jumping on the bandwagon by reaching out to Irish anti-immigration activists to offer assistance and encouragement.
As reported in The Irish Times, these figures have included Frank Silva, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and founding member of a notorious white supremacist terror group, who has been providing Irish followers with advice on tactics gleaned from his own clashes with the authorities.
It also includes members of the Goyim Defence League, a US neo-Nazi network dedicated to harassing Jewish communities. Associates of the League have been creating anti-immigration posters targeted at both Irish and Irish-American communities.
Many of these interactions take place through private channels but a remarkable proportion take place in public forums, such as the online meeting application X Spaces or through Telegram and Snapchat channels.
During the violence in Coolock, well-known British far-right agitator Tommy Robinson contacted a channel operated by a Dublin man who had openly discussed driving stolen cars into gardaí policing the protests. “It’s great to watch lads. Keep it going and stay safe. Your police are total c**ts,” he said before asking for “any videos” to be sent on.
Robinson has been active in Irish far-right spaces for some time and has close links with several prominent anti-immigration figures here.
More recently, followers of the social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been offering support and encouragement to Irish anti-immigration protesters. The brothers, who became famous through their misogynistic internet personas, are awaiting trial in Romania on charges of rape and human trafficking.
“When this bullshit in Romania is over I’m tempted to move to Ireland and fund/raise awareness for all these brave people saving their nation from being invaded,” said Andrew Tate in May.
Last month, Tristan Tate went further. He sent €4,600 to anti-immigration activists in Dundalk, Co Louth, for the purchase of loudspeakers and other equipment. A war of words has now broken out between two rival groups of protesters over who is entitled to the cash.
Speaking to reporters last week, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said some members of the international far right have been providing advice to Irish extremists. He said the advice received was mostly of low quality as it was based on a lack of knowledge of Ireland and Irish policing.
However, Harris warned future unrest similar to that seen in Coolock would again make Ireland a centre of focus for international far-right figures.
While most of the international far right’s advice is of limited value, gardaí responsible for public-order policing are concerned about the sharing of tactics aimed at fomenting violence during protests.
Security sources said they have noticed a small number of “professional” protesters at recent anti-immigration events using tactics popular among the far right in the EU and US.
These include wearing two sets of clothes, allowing rioters to change appearance quickly; wearing padding under their hats and jackets; and pre-positioning bricks and other throwable objects at protest sites in advance of clashes with gardaí.
