Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is hard to follow. Back in 1996 when I commenced my degree in journalism, as part of the photojournalism module we had to learn how to develop our own pictures in a darkroom. Within a short time of passing the exam, digital cameras had become the norm, darkrooms were no more, photo film companies were going out of business and I was left with a redundant skill. Within another short period of time, online platforms were gaining a foothold when it came to the presentation of news. Following that came the advent of social media with Facebook and Twitter. I mention all of these things because the amazing technological changes that happened in a very short window of time changed forever the traditional print media structures that had existed for centuries. It also changed how news was presented and it eroded the foothold of print media. The standards in reporting were also eroded because instead of journalists who had been trained in college or in the field reporting, everyone walking down the street saw themselves as a journalist.

The lightning pace of change has also taken its toll on traditional television stations. I have discussed already with the Minister how people choose different platforms to get information and entertainment. Despite the huge differences between traditional print media, traditional TV platforms and social media, the one common denominator is advertising. The financial survival of all media, whether print, TV or social media, depends on advertising. If they cannot pay the bills, they do not have a viable media organ. In that respect, social media is king. The need for transparency and authenticity is essential. The political world is not exempt from the impact this is having.

We have two key concerns. First, as Deputy MacSharry has said, is that the Government is using this highly influential platform to pedal spin it is passing off as information, brought to the public by An Taoiseach on planes, trains and automobiles, the sequel. Second is the issue of the manipulation of this platform by bots that could distort political facts. We have had examples from the US presidential election where one Russian company used 470 fake accounts to buy approximately $100,000-worth of political advertising, which were styled to look like the work of American activists. In Ireland, we had an attack on our own presidential election through fake tweets, which distorted a campaign. As Deputy Lawless said, people are very conscious of how the same thing could happen again in upcoming campaigns on very hot political issues.

The Bill, on which I commend Deputy Lawless, has very strict areas in terms of the transparency around paid political advertising and the use of bots. I would like to see further areas tackled later, such as the protection of traditional forms of media. One might ask what it matters if the other strands die. Industries evolve and things change. So long as we are getting what we are getting, who really cares about the platform on which it is presented? I care. I care about traditional print media, be it national or local media, such as the Meath Chronicleor the Drogheda Independentgroup where I worked for a decade. If all we are getting is Donald Trump-like spin in the form of Government spin on the one hand and plethora of looney spouting garbage on the other hand, we will not live in a very media-friendly world.

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