Gardaí warn about ‘misinformation and fake news’ over incident in Blakestown

Gardaí have refuted claims a serious disturbance in west Dublin arose after an armed migrant man attacked local schoolchildren. The claims were made on social media posts which reached a large audience.
The group fight in Blakestown did not involve any migrants or any adult men. It was instead a street brawl between groups of schoolchildren, all of whom appeared to be wearing school uniforms during the incident outside a supermarket in the area.
Garda Headquarters on Friday issued a statement refuting the claims on social media that the incident involved an adult migrant. The move to release the statement rejecting the claims comes as part of the Garda’s efforts to rebut disinformation and misinformation being generated by far right agitators. The content is shared by other social media users who do not check the accuracy of the information.
Rather than investigating any involvement by an armed migrant man on schoolchildren, a group of pupils is under investigation and gardaí have been in contact with staff at their school and youth diversion officers.
The Garda said its members responded to a call about a public order incident at approximately 1.45pm on Thursday on Blakestown Road, Dublin 15.
“All those involved in this incident are school students and Irish nationals. The incident is contained within the school and did not involve an adult male,” the Garda said.
“An Garda Síochána is very conscious of the volume of misinformation and fake news in circulation regarding this incident – particularly on social media and direct messaging platforms.”
The Garda also appealed to “all members of the public and the media to independently verify any information published on social media and/or messaging apps”.