James Cox
Fianna Fáil and the Department of Health have denied paying for retweets after a post from Stephen Donnelly received hundreds in a matter of minutes.
Mr Donnelly’s tweet of a video about the Cabinet decision to support the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital received hundreds of retweets from accounts which appeared to be spam accounts.
In a statement on the matter, the Department of Health said: “Neither the Department nor the Minister have paid for any promotional activity in relation to his social media accounts."
“We have asked Twitter to investigate," it added.
Today is an important milestone in delivering a world-class new National Maternity Hospital for women and babies. Cabinet approval of the legal framework ensures all legally permissible services will be available. We'll work now to get this vital hospital built. pic.twitter.com/sTvT8qaYpt
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) May 17, 2022
In response to the activity on Mr Donnelly's video, Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane wrote: "Going by the retweets there are a lot of people in Turkey taking a keen interest in the NMH."
Twitter has been attempting to cut down on the number of bots on the platform, with the issue even impacting billionaire Elon Musk's takeover.
Musk said on Tuesday his $44 billion (€42 billion) offer would not move forward until Twitter Inc shows proof that spam bots account for less than five per cent of its total users, hours after suggesting he could seek a lower price for the company.
