Social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, has defended its response to recent rioting in Dublin that was in part fuelled by far-right users of the platform.
X described as “inaccurate” claims by Ireland’s justice minister Helen McEntee that it did not engage with Irish police during the November 23 unrest.
The violence, which saw police cars and public transport vehicles set on fire and shops looted, was the worst seen in Dublin for decades.
In a statement to the Irish parliament last week McEntee said that while some social media companies like TikTok and Meta engaged with police and took down posts, others did not.
McEntee said that X “didn’t engage. They did not fulfil their own community standards”.
The platform described McEntee’s claims as “inaccurate”.
“We have proactively taken action on more than 1,230 pieces of content under our rules relating to the riots,” it said late on Monday.
“The (Irish police) did not make any formal requests to us until late Monday 27th November. We responded promptly.
“The only appeal we have received from the (Irish police) relating to the enforcement of our rules is for a single post,” said X, adding that it hopes McEntee “will clarify her remarks”.
In the wake of the unrest, Irish lawmakers have called for big tech companies to be more proactive in tackling far-right activity online.
The Dublin parliament is also considering a hate speech bill that would clamp down on users posting inflammatory content on social media.
The planned bill could see world-renowned cage fighter Conor McGregor under the spotlight.
The Dublin native sent a series of social media posts during the unrest that criticised the government’s immigration policy, writing to his 10 million followers: “Ireland, we are at war.”
After the law was proposed, X’s owner Elon Musk said that Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar “hates the Irish people.”
In response to a comment from a right-wing influencer, Musk also appeared to endorse the idea of McGregor — the former UFC champion — running for political office in Ireland.
