Debunked: How misinformation spread within minutes of a garda being stabbed on Capel Street

FOLLOWING A KNIFE attack on a garda patrolling inner city Dublin yesterday, false claims that the suspect was a migrant quickly spread on the internet.

The garda was attacked yesterday evening during a routine, high-visibility patrol on Capel Street.

He was wounded on his upper arm, and his stab vest sustained some impact damage, before the suspect was subdued and detained.

The injured garda has since been discharged from hospital after being treated for his injuries.

However, false rumours about the suspect soon spread online.

“We have some people with their own agenda try and inflame situations like this for their own ends,” Paul Cleary, Assistant Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region, said on Morning Ireland today.

Many posts with inaccurate claims about the incident, that have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, can still be seen on social media. 

One post to Facebook calling the suspect a “non-national” has accumulated more than 92,600 views since being posted just before 8pm yesterday.

Another post that appeared half an hour later, which says that the stabbing was carried out by a “migrant who went Tonto [crazy]”, has been seen 22,800 times, according to statistics from Meta, Facebook’s parent company.

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Multiple other posts on Facebook blamed the stabbing on a “foreigner” without providing any evidence.

Posts on the social media platform X alleging that the suspect was a non-Irish person have been viewed more than 100,000 times, according to metrics on that site.

One of the earliest posts blaming the stabbing simply read: “Garda stabbed by foreigner on Capel street 10 minutes ago” responding at 6.55pm to a well-known far-right activist who had been complaining about Ireland being a “3rd world country” because of immigration. 

Similar narratives quickly spread on X, including claims that Ireland was being overridden by foreign criminals. “This street has gone to the dogs,” reads a 7.02pm post about the Capel Street stabbing that has been viewed more than 13,100 times. “Every single day we have foreign nationals, drinking, shitting and pissing on the street in Broad daylight.”

Similar arguments that exaggerate how dangerous Dublin is are common in anti-immigrant groups, which often portray non-Irish people are inherently criminal. 

However, claims that the suspect was a migrant or a non-national contradicts all mainstream reporting on the case, as well as statements made by the Gardaí.

The suspect is an Irish citizen who was born in the country, according to numerous outlets, including RTÉ.

The suspect is expected to be charged this evening.

Baseless accusations that foreigners are responsible regularly appear online almost as soon as crimes occur.

Some of these accusations have been associated with real-life violence, including the case of an Indian man who was brutally attacked by a mob in Tallaght last week after being falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour around children.

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