Micheál Martin: Fake ads about me originated in Russia and were paid for with stolen credit cards
Belarus Though And Say Criticism Had In Russia He Not Said If Micheal Made The Target Ads Him His Outspoken Originated Russia, Martin Could Of A
Stolen credit cards were used to buy online ads which wrongly used the Tánaiste's image, Micheál Martin said.
Earlier this year, Mr Martin confirmed he is pursuing "false and defamatory" ads that were posted about him on social media site X, formerly Twitter, in March.
Mr Martin, who was forced to seek a separate court order against Google in relation to scam cryptocurrency ads late last year, has said online abuse and the targeting of politicians is "at a level that we haven't experienced before in Ireland".
He said that the ads had originated in Belarus and Russia, though Mr Martin said he could not say if his outspoken criticism of Russia made him a target.
"The fake ads seem to have originated from jurisdictions in Belarus and Russia. It seems that stolen credit cards were used to pay for the ads.
“Notwithstanding the fact that we’ve received a High Court order, I’ve written again to Google in respect of the ads that appeared on Google to get further clarity on the steps it intends to take because there seems to be a model of revenue generation here that’s unacceptable in terms of the proper application of the rule of law.”
The Tánaiste said he had received more co-operation from Google than X, despite that company hosting "a series of ads" about him.
The High Court previously issued a court order to force Google to hand over information about ads which suggested that Mr Martin was endorsing cryptocurrency companies after he took legal action against the multinational on the matter.
“We’ve had far less co-operation from X, who had a whole series of fake ads in respect of my good self and others in the midst of the local elections and advance of the referenda.”
The Tánaiste was speaking as the Government published the Defamation (Amendment) Bill on Thursday. Part of that bill will make it easier and cheaper to find out who is making anonymous posts online.
The legislation includes a statutory power for the Circuit Court to issue a ‘Norwich Pharmacal’ order, directing a digital services provider to identify an anonymous poster of defamatory online material. The government hopes this will significantly reduce the legal costs for a person subjected to such comments.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee says the Government is also working on a power for the courts to award damages for harm suffered by a person targeted by so-called SLAPP proceedings.
Mr Martin said that his concern was that politicians would be targeted in the run-up to elections.
"It's a serious issue and it's why I welcome what's happening in this legislation. But in terms of citizens generally, there is an issue there in terms of democracy, if a fake ad of this type can appear in the middle of election campaigns, if they get more refined in terms of how they're presented they could cause difficulty and could undermine people's reputations in the middle of an election campaign.
"That is our concern."