Thread:
https://twitter.com/Care2much18/status/1762833430658658600
A woman, Jessica Browne, took to Facebook to allege a 7-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by “3 Romanian men.”
Jessica is an Irish Freedom Party supporter and admin of far-right accounts.
Routinely spreads rumours without any evidence and later retracts them.
Just FYI.
From there Fergus Power and Derek Blighe amplified it.
Fergus, as always, writes an essay in all of his tweets and tailors the language for an international audience.
“Police”, “Prime Minister”, “Vice Prime Minister”, that sort of shite to get engagement outside Ireland.
Rumour itself is unfalsifiable, in the short term.
It doesn’t accuse named person(s) of a crime and nobody can possibly verify if a child was sexually assaulted a few hours ago.
There’s countless reasons to doubt the veracity of these rumours but by nature it’s unfalsifiable.
The alleged nationalities of the alleged perpetrators, living in asylum seeker accommodation, are Romanian and Hungarian.
European Union citizens have freedom of movement and have no need whatsoever to seek international protection here.
One good reason to doubt the rumour.
I’ll break down this post.
- “Hearing reports”
This is almost always code for “someone said it on Facebook or whatsapp”, with no source cited or ability to confirm.
The wording is designed to sound somewhat official and reputable but is often used to preface made-up shite.
- “The police have tried to cover it up”
Any investigation into sexual assault by An Garda Síochana has a duty to protect the anonymity of complainant and alleged perpetrator.
If any online rumour re: sexual assault were true, gardaí won’t provide public with those details.
- “They brought the child to hospital by taxi”
Complete baloney, would never happen.
Even if you assumed the rumour itself were true, that gardaí were at the scene of a sexual assault of a child, there is no way on Earth they’d ring a taxi for her.
Manure.
- “Child was brought back to the scene of the crime where the alleged assailants were still there”
Made-up shite that would never, ever happen.
There’s absolutely no way, in 2024, that gardaí return a 7-year-old who has been sexually assaulted to the alleged perpetrators.
Moreover if any of the above shite were true, far-right idiots would have jeopardised the anonymity of a child victim.
They were giving out not one, but two, alleged locations in real time that the child was at.
Even bigger concern is far-right idiots risk protecting abusers.
Evidently some are stupid enough to believe gardaí send child victims to hospital in taxis and taxi them back to their alleged rapists.
People spreading those lies are helping who?
It sure as hell won’t empower anyone to come forward to report sexual assault & abuse.
The fundamental problem with this far-right playbook is they can make up any rumour they want to instigate a mob.
Animosity and hatred generated by lies doesn’t dissipate with the belated emergence of truth.
They’re going to get someone hurt with this shite.
Pathetic.
