Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----organised by platforms. I do not see The Ditchas an independent media platform at all. Paddy Cosgrave does. He is a backer. Chay Bowes was a founding member of The Ditch. Chay Bowes is quoted on Russia Today. The Russian ambassador is full of praise for Chay Bowes for his characterisation of the Russian war on Ukraine as a war organised by NATO and the EU.

I am a fair person. I have been a Member of this House for a long time. The world of politics has changed. I understand what has changed. I know what is going on here in terms of the broader political world. We should not be slaves to it. I respectfully say to the Deputy that neither should she. Legitimate questions can be asked. If one looks at that whole campaign and how it was organised over the past week, one will come to the conclusion that it deserves analysis. There was the trending, the build-up, the hashtags, the algorithms and the paid ads. There was the berating of media for daring not to discuss it or cover it and extraordinary full-frontal attacks on the national broadcaster and other TV channels and media for not following the trending operation.

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