Israel’s renewed bombardment of Lebanon in recent weeks has once again thrown the presence of Irish peacekeepers in the region into sharp focus.
But beyond the dangers of conflict itself, officials who spoke to RTÉ say United Nations (UN) missions now face a rising threat from disinformation.
False claims, online propaganda, and orchestrated campaigns have increasingly fueled hostility, eroded trust, and, in some cases, put peacekeepers directly in harm’s way.
Experts warn that, as geopolitical tensions grow, tackling this “information war” is becoming as critical as the missions themselves.
In what was then known as The Congo in the 1960s, Irish…