Vile online commentary is just getting worse

When they first came on stream, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (now X) appeared like magnificent manifestations of the potential of the internet.

We first got into Facebook in 2008 when we were travelling in Australia. It became a great and easy way to keep in contact with people we met on our travels. And a very convenient means of keeping family and friends at home updated on our progress. Or, as they might have seen it, a way to gloat about the wonderful Aussie summer during the harsh Irish winter. That, of course, would never be our intention.

I was introduced to Twitter in 2009 and I loved it from the start. It was a great place for information gathering, for learning. It was somewhere that you could have your genuinely held views challenged in a fair, articulate way by sincere posters with different opinions. And it was a place for ad nauseum debate about Mayo football.

But when you use both sites now, you just witness an incredible amount of spewing of hate, vile and invective.

The communal feel to social media in its earlier years was great. Everyone could come along and comment. There was a real sense of democracy about it. But, as time has gone on, it turns out that giving every individual in the world the opportunity to publish content from their own phone without any moderation, editing and next to nothing in terms of sanction hasn’t been quite the positive we hoped.

While most people in the world are decent and respectful, a lot of those have just stepped back from social media because of the cesspit it has become. Therefore, more and more hate dominates, more decent people leave and on and on the vicious circle goes.

The amount of racism, misogyny and hate you witness is staggering. Occasionally, you click into the profile of someone posting such comments and find some are married with daughters and sons. You wonder what future they want for their children. What level of disadvantage do their children have with the environment they are being raised in?

One of the problems is that people like this get away with it. A Liverpool supporter who racially abused Bournemouth footballer Antoine Semenyo in the first game of the Premier League this month was ejected from Anfield and will likely face a lengthy ban. As it should be.

However, he and his ilk can make far worse comments online and receive no sanction. Sometimes, they might receive a pile-on from decent people but often people are wary of wading into such portals of hate because they will be on the receiving end themselves.

Such people are often dismissed as ‘anonymous cowards’ but the problem is that plenty of comments are made under their own, clearly identifiable name. They seem unbothered by it, and well they might be because there are no consequences.

Social media has become, sadly, a safe space for hate and racism.

The issue of the Mise Éire event in Castlebar has seen some amount of hate-filled online abuse.

Those backing the festival, initially due to be in Leitrim before the venue in Drumshanbo thought twice about it, claim it to be ‘for those who cherish Irish culture, heritage, and are united in celebrating our shared values’. Those against it believe it to be a ‘far right’ gathering. It would be fair to say that the vast bulk of people interested in it are anti-immigration.

The initial festival in Leitrim saw a petition against it signed by hundreds of prominent artists, including Kneecap, Christy Moore, Frances Black, Chris O’Dowd and Fontaines DC. Organisers and supporters claim that such artists are ‘against free speech’.

One woman in Castlebar launched a petition against the festival. She was on the receiving end of the most vile and horrible abuse.

The debate about free speech is interesting. It is a fundamental human right but there is no absolute right to say whatever you want. It is often subject to limitations to protect public order, morality and the rights of others.

You only have to see some of the hate-filled, racist comments towards immigrants by many social media users advocating for the festival to be concerned. I’m not sure I want to see any more of these type of people in my hometown than are already there. I’m not sure I want to see my hometown associated with such hate.

There are some particularly dangerous people operating in this space who know only too well how to agitate and stir a mob into a frenzy.

Social media has become one of the biggest issues in the world right now.

You actually might have been able to have a reasonable debate about the immigration issue ten years ago on social media. Forget about it now.

There is a need for a deeper debate on the issue. The immigration issue hasn’t been helped by a Government that insists on vague, non-specific answers about capacity, infrastructure and long-term planning.

As David McWilliams cogently argued in The Irish Times last month, Ireland needs immigrants but capacity is an issue.

“No matter what some people might argue, Ireland needs immigrants. This economy and society cannot survive without them. From healthcare to high-tech, construction to hospitality, the country would grind to a halt without immigrants and Ireland, on many metrics, benefits enormously from our hardworking and talented new citizens.

“But there is a problem, and it’s not their fault. From our planning, transport, education, welfare and health system to our construction industry, Ireland, as presently administered, is not able to deal with a rapidly rising population,” said McWilliams.

It is a starting point for what should be a constructive and well-intentioned debate. Such a debate seems impossible with the levels of extremism on the far right, many of whom think anyone who is not ‘white-Irish’, to use their phrase, should be deported (as an aside, if we were drawing up a list of people to deport, those hate agitators on the far-right would be near the top of my list).

There are plenty on the hard-left who see zero problems with immigration at all.

There is a balance. Many anti-immigration advocates are completely ignorant of our own history as generations of Irish people left home to create a better life for themselves.

The vast majority coming to Ireland are trying to do the very same thing. Let’s absolutely have debates about capacity, rules around entry, rights and responsibilities. Let’s not forget our health and hospitality sectors would grind to a halt without immigrants.

I often wonder how will the generation of children coming to Ireland now, who make it their home, look back on their initial experience upon arrival when they are adults?

Will they have felt welcome? Will they have been ostracised by online hate merchants with no knowledge of our history or compassion?

What will their view be of so-called ‘citizen journalists’ turning up at their homes, smartphone in hand, recording them without their permission and spewing unfiltered, unverified content online, making them the target of hate?

We need much greater leadership from our government on this issue. Will it come? It is hard to be confident.