Group wants parties to avoid 'toxic' election tactics seen in UK and US by signing 'Fair Play Pledge'
Political parties are being asked to play fair online in the General Election and to avoid using the "toxic tactics" employed in the UK and US.
There are currently no laws in place to regulate online electioneering in Ireland.
In this vacuum, academics and civil liberties group have come together to ask parties to avoid a “race to the bottom” in terms of bad behaviour online, such as “fake news” campaigns.
All parties are being asked to sign up to the Fair Play Pledge, which has four commitments.
Parties are being asked to campaign honestly and openly, respect the dignity of others, participate in financial fair play and once elected - champion election integrity in the new Dáil.
The Fair Play Pledge has been endorsed by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICLL), Transparency International Ireland and DCU’s FuJo (Future of Journalism). It is supported by Theresa Reidy (political scientist in UCC), David Farrell (political scientist in UCD), Jane Suiter (professor in DCU) and Eileen Culloty (an expert in disinformation in DCU).
The group’s motive is for Irish political discourse not to follow the trends seen in British and American politics.
“Other countries have seen a race to the bottom when it comes to bad behaviour online during elections,” said a spokesperson for the group.
One only needs to look at the recent UK election that saw the Conservative Party run what was dubbed a ‘fake news campaign’ after it was accused of setting up a false Labour manifesto website and pretending to be an independent fact-checker on social media.
Political scientist and UCC’s Theresa Reidy said parties who sign up to the pledge make it clear that they and their candidates value democracy.
"Like all precious commodities, democracy can be easily damaged," she said. “The Freedom in the World 2019 report noted that 2018 marked the 13th year in a row of decline in global freedom. Democracy is not inevitable, it must be nurtured and protected."
She said Ireland is not immune to the online and foreign interference in other countries' elections.
