Irish conspiracy circles have predictably latched on to monkeypox in the same way they did with COVID-19. However, this time, the Gardaí, the Irish police force, are looking into conspiratorial threats being made against politicians on social media. ISD Analyst Aoife Gallagher spoke to Irish-outlet The Journal about the similarities this is having with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When monkeypox and the facts about it started to spread, they were almost immediately disregarded as being part of an agenda by some group, that it was the next stage in the ‘plandemic’”, Aoife said.

“For many, it was another sign of the plan to control our lives through a totalitarian or authoritarian scheme. If it started over in the US, you can be sure the same tactics and claims are going to be made in Ireland also”.

Aoife is the author of “Monkeypox and ‘Groomers’: How Twitter Facilitated a Hate-Riddled Public Health Disinformation Campaign“, a recent Dispatch identifying the latest monkeypox conspiracy trends being used to stigmatise the LGBTQ+ community.