FACT CHECK: Image Claims To Show Irish Military Responding To Riots
A post shared on X, formerly Twitter, claims to show the Irish Defense Forces responding to riots.
Dublin – Irish army now on the streets of the capital. Hope it’s for a military coup #GetThemOut pic.twitter.com/66olWUip7q
— 🇬🇧RonEnglish🇬🇧🏴 (@RonEng1ish) November 23, 2023
Verdict: Misleading
The Irish Defense Forces said the image was not related to the riots.
Fact Check:
Riots erupted in Ireland after three children and a woman were stabbed outside a school in Dublin, according to The New York Times. Rioters looted stores, lit vehicles on fire and vandalized stores, the outlet reported.
Social media users have been sharing an image claiming to show the Irish Defense Forces responding the riot. One user wrote, “Dublin – Irish army now on the streets of the capital. Hope it’s for a military coup…”
There is no evidence that the Irish Defense Forces were responding to the riots. If they had, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. A review of the military’s X account did not yield any results, either.
The Irish Defense Forces denied in a tweet that the images of its vehicles were in connection to the riots. (RELATED: Did The Washington Post Publish An Article About Weapons Going From Ukraine To Hamas?)
PSA
Images circulating of Defence Forces vehicles in Dublin City Centre are not from this evening, but from a separate routine operation and have no connection to this evening’s events.
We ask everyone to be sensitive to the spreading disinformation, and to take care.
— Óglaigh na hÉireann (@defenceforces) November 23, 2023
“PSA. Images circulating of Defence Forces vehicles in Dublin City Centre are not from this evening, but from a separate routine operation and have no connection to this evening’s events. We ask everyone to be sensitive to the spreading disinformation, and to take care,” the Irish Defense Forces tweeted.
Capt. Kevin Kenny, an Irish Defense Forces spokesperson, said to Check Your Fact while the Irish military “cannot confirm the exact time that those vehicles were out,” they “can confirm that it was not in any way connected to the events of the evening.”
