Broken political promises and false statements by politicians do not qualify as misinformation, Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan has claimed.
In an exchange with Gript this week regarding the Budget 2027 allocation of €1.1 million to combat disinformation, the Fine Gael Minister said he was “extremely happy” with his progress in government.
O’Donovan made the remarks after being asked whether broken electoral pledges, such as his party’s previous promise to abolish the Universal Social Charge (USC), constituted harmful misinformation.
Initially avoiding the specific question, the Minister highlighted the government’s financial support for various media outlets.
“Look, we’re committed as a government to a misinformation and disinformation strategy,” O’Donovan said.
“I mean, we’ve had a number of reports to government on it. We’re also committed to supporting our national broadcaster with in excess of a quarter of a billion euros next year, and we will also support regional radio. And we’ve also given a considerable amount of support, through our colleagues in the media, to local newspapers and to bodies termed local democracy.”
Minister: False claims by politicians don’t count as “misinfo”
When pressed on whether politicians making false statements or breaking electoral promises should be included in discussions about harmful disinformation, the Minister rejected the suggestion.
“I know you probably would… but I wouldn’t,” he replied.
“I mean, we work in a coalition environment, and so when coalitions are formed, manifestos are brought together, and out of that nobody won an absolute majority in the last election, so a programme for government had to be negotiated.”
The comments follow the Minister’s Budget 2027 announcements this week, with his Department confirming an allocation of €240 million in taxpayer support for RTÉ, alongside €65.4 million for TG4.
“Sustainable public service broadcasting is a central priority for me,” O’Donovan noted during his budget speech.
“This Budget maintains the levels of funding for public service media and the independent media sector in 2027. This will ensure that RTÉ and TG4 continue to provide Irish audiences with high-quality programming across all genres.”
The Minister’s remarks on political promises have proven controversial in light of previous political pledges regarding the USC.
During a February 2016 appearance on RTÉ Radio 1’s This Week, then-junior finance minister Simon Harris described the abolition of the tax as an “absolute commitment” of Fine Gael prior to that year’s General Election.
“Our absolute commitment going into this election is the abolition of the hated USC,” Harris said.
“It was a temporary measure, it was an emergency measure. If we want recovery to be felt behind every household, every home and every family, we need to abolish it.”
However, speaking on an RTÉ Radio 1 budget phone-in special this week, Harris stated that the tax will remain in place through the coalition’s next three budgets.
“The honest to God answer is because we now rely on that level of expenditure to fund our country,” Harris explained.
“So, to abolish the USC would cost probably around five billion euro.”
The refusal to classify political statements as misinformation comes amid growing scrutiny over how social media platforms moderate political speech.
As reported in a Gript article published this week, Meta’s third-party moderation rules specifically exempt elected officials and political candidates from the scrutiny applied to standard accounts, protecting them from warning labels.
The issue of political statements escaping scrutiny under state-supported disinformation initiatives has previously surfaced within the government.
As reported by Gript on the 19th of February 2024, shortly before the March referendums, then-Media Minister Catherine Martin was told by the State’s official electoral watchdog that she was incorrect regarding the Irish Constitution.
Prior to the Family and Care referendums held that year, the Green Party Minister stated on social media that the Constitution said “a woman’s place is in the home”.
Supreme Court Justice Marie Baker, chairwoman of the State’s Electoral Commission, rejected the claim during an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday and fact checked Martin.
“She’s wrong,” Baker said.
“[The Constitution] says something much more positive than that. It says something that is a more positive statement of values. It says that the work women do in the home provides an important support to the common good of society.”
The state created the Electoral Commission partly to address false information during voting periods.
When questioned by Gript regarding the comments, Martin doubled down on her position, reacting in a defensive manner.
Martin contradicts Electoral Commission on upcoming referendum
During a subsequent press appearance, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar abruptly left the stage while answering a question from Gript on the issue.
The regulation of political statements has also prompted legislative action internationally.
Earlier this year, lawmakers in Wales approved legislation criminalising lying by political candidates during Senedd campaigns. The measure makes it a criminal offence to issue false factual statements to benefit a candidate, while also introducing a system allowing voters to dismiss politicians who engage in misconduct before their terms end.