H&CC analysis and talking points of the event surrounding Coolock.
Documented 18 July 2024. This is an evolving situation and our observations may change as more information comes to light
1. Communities know what keeps them safe. Communities pride themselves in being welcoming, no exceptions. Rather than shame, blame, judge, or even punishment they need resourcing to thrive – like reliable public transport, well-lit and maintained streets, empty houses turned into homes, excellent schools, youth and community workers, trusted community policing, clean water and air.
2. Spreading fear to silence communities. Certain politicians and far right actors try to benefit by making us afraid of each other. They have nothing to offer communities so they try to distract us by scapegoating and turning us against each other. Violent rhetoric, threats, and attacks are escalating and people and communities targeted by hate and racism feel increasingly unsafe and afraid to speak out.
3. Amplification of violence on social media. Incitement to hatred by a small core of ideologically committed far right actors, who consistently stoked hate and fear and violence was recorded across all social media platforms in relation to Coolock. X and TikTok, had first calls to mobilise in Coolock; a Facebook private group ‘Coolock Says No’ (4,000 members), was littered with the same calls. No action has been taken by Meta to take it down.
4. The Social Media Megafone. The business model of social media platforms prioritises emotionally manipulative content through Algorithms that drive sharing and engagement with this content. Platforms display advertisements in videos posted of the harassment and intimidation of people living in tents. Irish far right influencers are paying X to have their posts boosted, with one influencer sharing 23 clips from Coolock getting 8 million views.
5. Intelligence led policing needs to be prioritised. Intelligence led policing is about reading signals, making assessments about threats and risks that inform operational decisions. The absence of any visible Garda presence following the removal of the temporary camp in Coolock in the early hours on Monday morning last allowed a tense situation to develop and escalate. By the time An Garda Síochána showed up after attacks on workers, the situation was out of control. This enabled the violent and chaotic scenes to unfold unimpeded.
6. Increased attacks on homeless people seeking safety. People seeking asylum have been forced into homelessness by state led decisions. This week saw increased levels of harassment and intimidation of people sleeping in tents across Dublin. People on the ground doing solidarity work have also been threatened. The state is failing in the most basic way, to protect people from organised and reactionary street violence. This in turn creates a widespread sense that communities are no longer safe for people who have made Ireland their home and emboldens bad actors seeking to create division and undermine cohesion.
7. What occurred was predicted. The playbook of the far right is known and predictable. The pattern has been well documented, and early warning signs were visible and present at Coolock, similar to those used during the Dublin riots in November 2023, including the spreading of lies and disinformation; calls to action and incitement to violence; creation of shareable content and amplification on social media. Social media, state, and police decision makers are consistently ignoring the patterns brought to their attention by civil society.
8 . The far right have formed a Coalition. Members of the National Party, Ireland First and The Irish People announced an alliance following the recent local elections. They turned out together in Coolock providing their first photo opportunity and recruitment calls to join the coalition. This opportunism of far-right political organisers to capitalise on community division and violence to build their base is not a new tactic but their collaboration is.
9. Councillors posing in front of arson attacks in our communities. Instead of condemning the intimidation and arson attacks, newly elected councillors associated with far right activity stoked the violence and applauded attacks on communities. Dublin City Councillor, Gavin Pepper, posed in front of the burning digger after a migrant worker was stretchered off the site and as masked men walked around in the background, asked viewers on a live stream ‘what do you expect if you don’t listen to us’.
10. What we fight we feed. Widespread resharing, commenting, and repeating of content produced by the far right or/and by people unintentionally amplifying content about events, only serves to make the far right seem more powerful and appear bigger in numbers than they actually are. This is a core part of their playbook – forcing everyone to talk about them, and in turn leading to mainstream headlines and dominating public discourse. Muting and blocking and amplification of positive community stories and leaders is the best antidote.
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