Analysing Claims of Electoral Interference During the Irish Local and European Elections

Published: 26 November 2024

Despite a tumultuous political history, election integrity in the Republic of Ireland has rarely been questioned, with public confidence that Irish elections are managed freely and fairly well above European averages. Incidents of election fraud are infrequent, with only one individual charged with attempting the crime since 2019.

Yet, ahead of the Irish local and European elections on 7 June 2024, false, misleading and conspiratorial claims of “voter harvesting”, “foreign interference”, and “polling station irregularities” emerged online. These terms echo the language of the “Stop the Steal” conspiracy narrative deployed in a concerted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 US Presidential election.

Between 26 May and 12 June 2024, ISD documented 162 posts across X, Telegram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok alleging election interference during Ireland’s local and European elections.

While these narratives failed to gain mainstream traction in June, the upcoming Irish general election on 29 November 2024 presents new opportunities for far-right activists to exploit social media and gaps in Irish election policy to sow doubts and distrust, potentially undermining the foundations of Irish democracy.