Mother Suing Newspaper Over Teen’s Death Faces Online Abuse

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Edel Campbell and her lawyer have allegedly faced abuse online, after they sued The Irish Light newspaper for falsely claiming Diego Gilesenan — Campbell’s son — died as a result of a COVID vaccination.1
  • The 18-year-old Gilesenan, who had not been vaccinated against the virus, reportedly died by suicide in August 2021.2
  • In May, Campbell sued Gemma O’Doherty — a journalist and publisher of The Irish Light — for printing her late son’s image without his family's consent.3
  • Last month, Justice Conor Dignam issued a restraining order against O’Doherty to prevent her harassing Campbell. Subsequently, the journalist allegedly launched an online attack on Campbell, and threatened to continue to “investigate the suspicious deaths of our young people, including Diego Gilsenan.”4
  • Campbell additionally claims that The Irish Light and O’Doherty have accused her of “outrageous lies” and of being “involved in massive fraud.”1
  • A statement from Campbell’s lawyer Ciaran Mulholland has also alleged that his office has received calls from supporters of The Irish Light and angry COVID vaccine skeptics, who have threatened to kill him for taking her case.5

Sources: 1BBC News, 2The Journal.ie, 3The Irish Times, 4SundayWorld, and 5New York Daily News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The New York Times. The spread of health misinformation increases the risk of real-world disease and must be stopped. Nonsensical claims about vaccines are running rampant on the internet, and there must be a price for those who contribute to the proliferation of these dangerous rumors, especially when they put medical professionals and innocent civilians at risk.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Spectator. Questioning the efficacy of vaccines, the nature of their side effects, and the ethics of mandates isn’t vaccine denial or misinformation. Government scientists aren’t releasing all the relevant data and are teaming up with social media platforms to silence those questioning their authority and expertise. Individuals have a right to make health decisions with the full knowledge of the facts, not just what the government is willing to reveal.

Predictions