Thomas

This man is being prosecuted for a tweet! (Let’s help him.) Canada is bad, the UK is bad, but Ireland is turning out to be the worst place in the world for online censorship. I first met Kirk Loco when I was in Ireland, reporting on their protests against massive immigration of military-aged men from the Third World. One day Kirk made a post on Twitter, republishing a public comment made by a woman about an incident on a public bus. According to the woman, there was a migrant man exposing himself to everyone on the bus — and she even had a photo of the man. But the Irish police claimed that the comment isn’t true — even though there is plenty of evidence that there was a serious incident on the bus. Instead of charging the migrant, they’ve charged Kirk, with publishing fake news. It’s the first time that law has ever been used, and it’s obvious they’re targeting Kirk because of his political views. Legal aid is available in Ireland, but in the Irish criminal justice system, most lawyers simply recommend a plea deal — confess your crime, pay a fine, and you’re done. It’s the easy way out. But what if your so-called crime was a thought crime? And what if pleading guilty is tantamount to renouncing your deeply-held convictions? That’s the situation Kirk is in. I flew out to Dublin to meet Kirk, and his new, principled lawyers: Laoise de Brun and Padraig Langsch. They’re not going to plead Kirk guilty — in fact, they’re already fighting hard for more disclosure from the government. Why won’t the police release all of the information about what exactly happened on that bus? I promised Kirk that I would do what we’ve done for conscientious objectors in other countries like Tommy Robinson in the UK and Tamara Lich in Canada: we’ll crowdfund his legal defence, by asking free-speech people from Ireland and around the world to help! If you agree that this so-called “fake news” censorship law is a threat to freedom, please chip in on this page below. Canada is bad, the UK is bad, but Ireland is turning out to be the worst place in the world for online censorship. If we can help Kirk win this battle, not only will we keep him free, but we’ll set a precedent against the Irish government’s censorship agenda. Please donate on this page below — thanks! There is a coordinated effort amongst western countries to censor the Internet — especially Elon Musk’s platform, X. Fighting against online censorship anywhere helps free speech everywhere.