By Kelly Smyth
On the 4th of March, reports of a stabbing of an 11-year-old student at St. Finian’s National School emerged, sending social media into a swirl of speculation and misinformation.
According to The Irish Times, gardaí believe the young boy had been stabbed in the neck by another pupil, with the boy being taken from the scene and being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The motives for the attack remain unclear, although it has been speculated that competitiveness or bullying may have been potential factors in the attack.
Gardaí have confirmed that “Both children involved [in the attack] attend the school”, with some sources calling the attack “highly unusual”. The boy who committed the act has been granted anonymity, as children below the age of 12 cannot be arrested or charged by Gardaí except in the event of murder, manslaughter or sexual assault. The boy is not previously known to authorities and gardaí have since contacted his guardians.
Despite the concerning and unusual nature of the stabbing, An Garda Síochána verified that there was no concern for public safety.
While there has been overwhelming transparency from authorities regarding this incident, many users online expressed dissatisfaction with this anonymity, with some users claiming the case would get “buried” due to the age of the boys involved. However, another subgroup of commenters on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook had more concerning views to express, views that could be suggested to be xenophobic and racist. Based upon this trend, a subsequent online investigation ensued, in which I investigated the percentage of comments under popular posts surrounding the incident contained racial or xenophobic references.
The top post on social media platform X was shared on the 4th of March and later deleted by Suzanne Delaney, a contributor for the online publication the Irish Inquiry. This post detailed the incident in St. Finian’s School, placing blame on the Irish government for the violence. The comments below placed the blame on immigrants, as well as expressing islamophobia, with one user having this to say: “is ireland waking up or are they still calling normal people who want safety from Islamic terrorism ‘far-right’”. Another user claimed the following regarding the anonymity of the children involved “When identification of a perpatrator is protected, it means one thing a MIGRANT is involved. Diversity is ireland’s greatest strength”. While this post has subsequently been deleted, Delaney continues to post about child stabbings, claiming “EPIGENETICS” and “cultural attitudes” may drive this child violence. Delaney has expressed Islamophobic and anti-immigration views in her contributions to the Irish Inquiry. This does bring into question the role of the Irish Inquiry in contributing to these narratives, and X’s facilitation of potential hate speech.
This issue is not isolated to comments made by anti-immigration figureheads. Publication RTÉ News shared a post on X regarding the incident in St. Finian’s National School, with the post receiving a total of 92 comments as of the 5th of March. Of these comments, over 10% contained references to immigrants and people of colour, with one receiving over 130 likes. Beneath this particular post, hostility towards the black African population in Ireland could be seen, with one user blaming “African culture” for the stabbing in the school. In addition to this, references to the 2023 stabbing on Parnell Street which sparked the Dublin Riot were made, in which the Algerian nationality of perpetrator Riad Bouchaker was highlighted. Most concerningly of all, one commenter used a racial slur below the post, saying “Another n*****?” Despite reports not mentioning ethnicity or nationality, this user used a racial slur while speculating the perpetrator. The comment remains publicly available beneath the post, bringing into question the lack of responsibility that comes with X’s loosening of restrictions on hate speech.
An even higher percentage of alarming comments could be found beneath the Irish Examiner’s Facebook post regarding the stabbing incident, with over 17% of the total 46 comments referring to immigration. One user directly blamed the Irish government’s immigration policy for the stabbing, saying “Don’t expect our globalist to do anything about it. Look at sweden that’s what’s coming”.
Based on this investigation, it is clear to see that a large percentage of comments display derogatory and potentially hateful views, despite nationality, religion, and ethnicity being absent in official news reports. The high level of anti-immigrant and racist comments on X could correlate to the general trend of an increased far-right presence and spread of misinformation on the platform, as highlighted by the Irish Times article ‘Influence of far right on social media in Ireland has grown since pandemic, says report’. Additionally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot towards US President Donald J. Trump’s policies may account for the large percentage of anti-immigrant references beneath these posts on his platform.
Additionally, it could be argued that the Irish government needs to implement and enforce hate speech moderation for platforms like X and Facebook, as these comments are symptomatic of a larger growth in far-right ideology in Ireland. The far-right populist tactic of using true crime to push their populist narratives will continue unless this is actively combatted.