A Cork City councillor has denounced as “cowardly and despicable” what he says is an AI poison pen campaign targeting him and a named public official. That campaign has taken the form of digitally altered council documents circulated around northside WhatsApp groups and making false claims around people seeking asylum. The altered documents purport to show a proposal that the council seek planning permission to develop a disused commercial premises as an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre. The old Keating’s Fitted Furniture building on Ballyvolane’s Ballyhooly Road has been idle for quarter of a century, and, at the January meeting of Cork City Council, a proposal was made that the council compulsorily purchase the property. However, doctored versions of Mr Maher’s motion and Mr Ó Donobháin’s response were circulated in recent days across WhatsApp groups in the Ballyvolane and Mayfield areas.

Source: Irish Examiner March 10, 2026 07:30 UTC