Leo’s spin unit ‘must face grilling’ over ‘propaganda’
CALLS have been made for the Government’s spin unit to be hauled before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions on their adverts for Project Ireland 2040.
The Opposition claims the Strategic Communications Unit has exploited the financial difficulties faced by regional and national news titles to promote a party political agenda.
They say newspapers were instructed to make paid-for advertorial pieces about Project Ireland 2040 look ‘like part of the normal news cycle’, and that struggling newspaper titles were unable to refuse the revenue. Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Social Democrats are all demanding answers from the SCU and the secretary general at the Department of the Taoiseach over what they call ‘Government propaganda’. ‘The Government appear to be using taxpayers’ money, exploiting the vulnerability of the newspaper industry to advance a narrow party political agenda,’ said Fianna Fáil communications spokesman Timmy Dooley.
‘I have met with many of the editors of Ireland’s national, regional and local newspapers and I am under no illusions as to the financial issues they are all facing.’
He added: ‘Paid-for advertising content that is not identified as such, instructions to editors to “make these advertorials look like independent stories and part of the normal news cycle”, newspapers simply editing content supplied to them by the SCU or interviewing participants not being informed that their quotes would be used in Government propaganda are all issues that need answers from the Secretary General and the head of the SCU.’
Labour TD Alan Kelly has called for civil servants in the €5million spin unit, which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had said would be ‘cost neutral’, to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.
The advertorials appeared in 15 regional titles, as well as national newspapers such as the Irish Independent and The Irish Times. In most cases, but not all, they carried banners saying: ‘Brought to you in partnership with Project Ireland 2040.’ But critics say the distinctions are not clear enough.
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy has said she will make an official complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. ‘There’s a difference between journalism and propaganda and propaganda is something you pay for,’ she told RTÉ’s Today With Sean O’Rourke.
Some of those interviewed in the articles have complained that they were not informed that they were for advertising purposes, rather than factual news. Donegal-based Sinn Féin councillor Gerry McMonagle, who was quoted in one piece by a local title, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I had thought it was a news piece, actually quite a good news piece for the county. But I can see that it is quite misleading. There may be cause for the Press Ombudsman to look into this, to decide one way or another if it misleading.’
The Taoiseach has defended the advertisement, saying it was right the Government should explain to the public ‘how their money is being spent on their behalf’.
He said there was ‘no direction from my department or any official in my department to people or editors to blur the lines between the news and an information campaign’. ‘The only instruction was that anything appearing in the papers should clearly indicate it was done in partnership with the Government and I think people will have seen that,’ he said.
However, news reports yesterday appeared to suggest the instructions had come from the advertising agency Mediaforce, hired by the SCU, rather than directly from the Taoiseach’s department.
The Mail contacted Mediaforce for comment yesterday but did not receive a response.
‘Exploiting vulnerability’