Una Mullally: What should we do when Senators go too far?

More people found out who Senator Sharon Keogan was last week, having seen or read about her arrogant and strange performance during a committee on surrogacy that earned her a brilliant rebuttal from fellow Senator Lynn Ruane. Keogan has been spouting bizarre things online and in the Seanad for a while, so let’s take a look at some of them.

Her commentary on LGBTQ+ people, which we saw rear its head again last week, is not new. In September of 2021, when Simon Coveney and Katherine Zappone were embroiled in a controversy about Zappone’s appointment as a UN envoy, Keogan took the opportunity to spread a conspiracy theory. “The most worrying issue here,” she tweeted, with regards to the publication of text messages between Coveney and Zappone, “is the agenda of governments worldwide to catapult #LGBTQIA personnel into high-level positions. One’s gender or sexuality shouldn’t be used for a seat at any table. This is not equality, this is an organised takeover at every level in our society.”

This fear-mongering is a long-standing conspiracy theory, rooted in the myth of “the gay agenda”, originating among right-wing American Christian fundamentalists. It has subsequently become a cornerstone of anti-LGBT movements in various jurisdictions, and online. The idea that minorities or marginalised groups are in fact involved in takeovers of society, is also a diverse conspiracy theory that has changed its stripes depending on who is the target of hate in any era.

But that’s not all Keogan talks about online. On women being harassed or intimidated by anti-choice protesters outside healthcare settings, Keogan had this empathic gem: “Gosh how could anyone feel threatened by a few people with rosary beads praying for the unborn outside services providing abortions? #righttoprotest #unborn #FreeSpeech.” Charming.

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I first came across Keogan when she published an unbelievably offensive just-asking-questions post on Facebook

Her participation on discourse on the pandemic was at times just plain odd, calling public health restrictions “tyranny”, and publishing this quote – attributed to herself – next to a photograph of herself which read, “GOVERNMENTS globally have collectively made ordinary participation in society CONTINGENT upon CONSUMPTION of a PRODUCT of a PRIVATE COMPANY under direct or indirect THREAT of FORCE.”

She also skirted cynical and sarcastic conspiracy rhetoric, tweeting, “Asking for a friend! Does anyone have ‘The Common Cold’? Or is it just like Flu, we will see it miraculously disappear?”

Keogan frequently also adopts the “just asking questions” stance, an obfuscating tactic that can be broadly seen as attempting to amplify or drop in poor information, misinformation or disinformation while simultaneously not attaching oneself to it, as though “asking a question” that is disingenuous can get you off the hook just because you’re tossing that question in the air, as opposed to nailing your colours to its mast.

For example, earlier this month, she posted a “Question of the day” on Twitter: “Anyone know where the war on the Unvaccinated has gone?” This “question” received 517 likes, 67 retweets, and 149 replies, a large amount of engagement on a single tweet for a little-known Irish Senator. In March, Keogan took to the floor of the Seanad to talk about “the authoritarian rule the unvaccinated are subjected to”.

On April 4th, she expressed her apparent admiration for the far-right Hungarian leader, Victor Orban, tweeting, “#VictorOrban winner alright. When 6 different parties try to squash nationalism, this is what happens. Orban doesn’t bend the knee to anyone. #Hungary first, his #people first and #family first,” alongside a photo of Orban surrounded by Hungarian flags. Curious. She also wrote on Twitter that she disagreed with Russian officials being expelled from Ireland, when four officials in the Russian embassy were asked to leave.

What protections do we actually have within our political chambers to counter misinformation and conspiracy?

I first came across Keogan when she published an unbelievably offensive just-asking-questions post on Facebook in August 2019, featuring a photograph of 15-year-old Nora Quoirin, who so tragically died when she went missing from a resort while on holidays with her family in Malaysia. Keogan’s take on that? “This was a tragic end for this family, but should children with special needs who have poor ability to communicate be microchipped with GPS? This has been asked of me by a parent of a Teenager with no verbal skills! What do you think? Please discuss!” What an abhorrent thing to “just ask questions” about.

It’s incredibly important that the Irish political system can facilitate the broadest church possible when it comes to points of view, ideologies, perspectives and ideas. But do Keogan’s fellow Senators believe this also covers her offensive and bizarre statements online and off? While it’s important not to amplify conspiracy, misinformation or simple nonsense, it’s also important to make people aware that such rhetoric exists when it comes to this Senator. So, what are we going to do about it? What processes are in place to sanction Senators when they go too far? What protections do we actually have within our political chambers to counter misinformation and conspiracy? Should people be able to say whatever they want, even when it’s tinged with conspiracy, misinformation or disinformation? Hey, I’m just asking questions.