A spat has broken out between Fine Gael and Labour over the use of an election video which was put on social media by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
In the video, senior members of the current Government answer “no”, “no way,” and “not a chance” to a posed question about whether they would ever go into Government with Sinn Féin.
However, the Labour Party took the video and placed it alongside the question “will Fine Gael stop wasting public money, build homes and fix health?”
Will Fine Gael actually deliver on Sláintecare and affordable homes? We asked an average voter and they answered unequivocally: pic.twitter.com/DJE7O7bfsp
— Social Democrats (@SocDems) February 1, 2020
Will Fine Gael stop wasting public money, build homes and fix health? #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/S9jYOnDVM8
— The Labour Party (@labour) February 1, 2020
I will never go into government with Sinn Féin. I asked my team if they would and they answered unequivocally.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) February 1, 2020
Micheál Martin cannot say the same about his front bench. pic.twitter.com/zEoKqpIgQO
Senior Fine Gael figures have said that the Labour Party has breached a “fair play pledge” which multiple parties have signed up to.
That pledge states that parties will not “deploy tactics of deception” or use “mimicry, impersonation or “reskinning” of social media profiles with the intent of misleading the public”.
A Fine Gael figure said that “taking a response to a question and pretending it is a response to a different question is pretty dishonest.”
A Labour Party spokesman said it was “a bit of craic”.
“Fine Gael’s complaints now are a bit hypocritical when they’re running the most negative campaign in modern Irish history. They produced some quality meme-able content and the internet has responded.
“It’s a bit of craic on Twitter of a Saturday but their protests have now created a Streisand effect,” the Labour spokesman said, referencing the phenomenon - named after Barbara Streisand - of drawing additional attention to something of embarrassment.
A Green Party councillor also used the video posing a question on whether the party would commit to climate action.
Speaking on Saturday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said there were “very childish, silly, I mean stupid even, commentary and videos.”
“We are not interested. We are running a serious campaign to get serious work done for the Irish people,” she said.
Political parties are expected to ramp up their online advertising as the final days of the election campaign approach. According to figures from Facebook, Fianna Fáil are currently outstripping Fine Gael in election spending.
Fianna Fáil has spent €30,000 in the last seven days in comparison to Fine Gael’s €10,000.
