A number of videos from the hack of the social media website Parler can be traced back to Ireland. In one such video a user voiced their support for the pro-Trump Million Man March that took place on 14 November last year. Thousands gathered in Washington to protest against Biden’s win at the ballot box, accusing him of stealing the election. He said he’d be there with a “machine gun” if he wasn’t in Ireland.
Parler became a haven for the far right in recent months as social media sites clamped down on extremism on their platforms.
According to a report by Wired, Parler’s security was lacking. And this allowed hackers to take advantage of this and “download every message, photo, and video in the order they were posted.”
Storming the Capitol
In a video posted by an Irish-based user on 13 November last year, he voices his support for what’s to come. The unidentified Laois-based man says “Tomorrow’s a big day” in reference to the protests which erupted into violence. He tells the camera “It’s breaking my heart that I can’t be there with you”. Going on, he states he’s “done with these lefty arseholes” who’re “cheating, ripping us off” and “making shit of this great thing that president Trump’s built”.
Lamenting the fact that he’s in Ireland, he declares:
If I wasn’t here in County Laois in Ireland I’d be with you guys tomorrow. I’d be storming that Senate with a fucking machine gun on my back. All I own is a 12-gauge shotgun but I’d take it. How can I get that shit on a plane? You can’t leave this damn country cause of these lockdowns.
He goes on to say that “America is the last chance we have”. And if Joe Biden’s election win is confirmed “we’re all screwed”.
At one point he discloses he’s the president of the Men of Mayhem Ireland. And that if backup is needed in Washington “we’re coming”. He closes the video saying “Thank you, Proud Boys”.
The Beacon contacted the Garda Press Office in relation to the video and is currently awaiting a response.
Parler to Telegram
In the aftermath of the attempted insurrection in Washington DC last week major technology companies have ended their contracts with Parler. Both Apple and Google removed the app from their respective app stores. And Amazon also stopped providing its web services for the social media company, thus leaving it without an online presence.
As a result, many of its former users have begun to migrate to Telegram. Founded by Pavel Durov in 2013, Telegram has seen its user base increase by millions in the last number of days. The messaging service/social media app is also a haven for far-right groups.
The Beacon has previously highlighted the role of Telegram in allowing the far right to spread disinformation as well as target minorities and activists.
More recently it also played a part in the far right’s targeting of anti-racism activists in the aftermath of the garda shooting of George Nkencho. In one group the admin directed the users to “Be as callous as possible” to people voicing their anger at the shooting. And they told them to “Abuse the absolute shit out of all” Black people online.
But in recent days Telegram has said it’s taken steps to eliminate extremists from the platform. As part of this process it removed “dozens of channels” in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing Telegram hasn’t removed any of the Irish-based far-right channels.
This article was updated on 15 January to clarify that the video referred to in the article was posted last year. And that it referred to the so-called Million Man March on Washington that took place on 14 November 2020.
Featured image via Twitter – Screenshot
I think the beacon had better come down from their holier than thou platform and stop collaboration with nazi satanists.
Look at the state of this gowl.