RTE's murky relationship with The Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
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Yesterday, July 9th, the RTE News website published an article by journalist Conor Hunt on rising “anti-migrant mobilisation “ across the nation. The source for the entire piece is provided by a new report by our old buddies at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) headquartered in the UK.
“ A new report from Institute for Strategic Dialogue, has found what began as scattered, localised protests in late 2022, has evolved into an "increasingly structured and internationally connected movement".
It says this mobilisation is "characterised by street protests, intimidation, targeted violence and coordinated amplification online" - Conor Hunt, RTE News website, July 9th, 2025.
The inference, of course, is that the huge rise in immigration unrest across Ireland is evidence of an increase in the influence of dark forces and the mythical “ far-right “ rather than genuine opposition to government policy.
Nothing could be further from the truth. A fact illustrated by over one thousand comments on the piece on the RTE News Facebook page. None too complimentary.
Full RTE Article Click Here
So, why do RTE source reports from very progressive-left organisations like the Institute for Strategic Dialogue for news sourcing?
To the untrained eye the ISD offer the appearance of an independent, research driven think-tank. Unbiased. Of course, this feature is vital for mainstream news and national broadcasters who themselves have become heavily agenda driven and ideologically biased in recent years and decades.
In short, these news operations require the authority of a third-party institution to rubber-stamp their bias as neutral. The Institute of Strategic Dialogue is one of the organisations which help them to fulfil this neutrality goal.
The twenty-minute-a-day news consumer will never look into the source agency RTE News employs for its immigration articles which is crucial for RTE to retain a semblance of credibility. A vaguely authoritive sounding institution is saying what RTE and others want them to say and most busy and distracted people buy it.
Why did RTE publish this latest article now?
The short answer, I believe, is mainstream media are beginning to lose the mass immigration information war. Protest numbers on the ground in recent months are noticeably rising. Social media volume is deafening too. Faces not previously seen on Irish streets are beginning to find their feet and voice. More on this in a moment or two.
Now, the clue to the truth of what I suspect is a developing incestuous relationship between ISD and RTE is in a strategic error I believe RTE made in timing the release of yesterday’s news piece.
The RTE article rolled fresh off the digital printing press within a couple of hours of the publication of the ISD report used as the source for it. The report, authored by Zoe Manzi and entitled “ Emerging cross-border dynamics in Ireland’s anti-migrant mobilisation “ was only published yesterday, July 9th. A rather too quick turnaround time for an article that isn’t remotely time sensitive or breaking news.
Manzi is a Hate and Extremism analyst for ISD.
RTE focuses on a section of the most recent ISD report featuring the Coolock protests of 2024. The successful Coolock protests, I might add. Pressure from co-ordinated local groups forced a government U-turn and ultimately a decision was taken earlier this year to pull the proposed immigration project to house asylum seekers at a large industrial site in Coolock. However, the Manzi reporting was concerned with highlighting other things.
“ Protests in Coolock, Dublin – which began in March 2024 before descending into violence in the summer – marked a major escalation in anti-migrant mobilisation. What began as opposition to converting an industrial site into asylum accommodation escalated into organised disorder, including arson, barricades and violent clashes with Gardaí “
“ One of the first directly observed signs of cross-border coordination between groups in Ireland and Northern Ireland occurred in August 2024: representatives from Coolock Says No, a grassroots anti-immigration protest group, travelled to Belfast to participate in anti-migrant protests in the wake of the 29 July Southport stabbing attack “
If you read the report closely you will begin to understand the developing problem for the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, RTE and others. Coolock highlighted a new feature of the island-wide unrest regarding refugee policy. Southern nationalists and northern loyalists found common ground on the subject of uncontrolled mass migration onto the island. This is an obvious and serious obstacle, if it continues, to the cosy cartels operating in and around RTE and government buildings. The potential for a type of mass mobilisation across religious divides and borders never before seen on the island of Ireland.
Loyalists and nationalists working together to save the thirty two counties from the globalist ambitions of its political classes.
A delicious thought.
Background and Recent history of ISD in Ireland
A quick refresher for new readers on the Institute of Strategic Dialogue might be useful at this point. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) works closely with a range of government agencies, including those involved in national security and intelligence. Its state and global partners have included:
The British Home Office
The United States Department of Homeland Security
The US State Department
The British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, under which the UK’s foreign intelligence agency (MI6) operates
The European Commission
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Soros backed Open Society Foundation
The official ISD promotional story is they provide threat intelligence, policy advice, and research for many of these agencies, particularly in areas related to extremism, disinformation, and online hate. While ISD is not itself an intelligence agency, its collaborations with these bodies mean it operates in a space closely aligned with intelligence and state security priorities.
In the last 5 months ISD sourced information and alleged disinformation experts have appeared at least four times on RTE. There might well be more examples I haven’t found.
February 8th, 2025: Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, hosts Ciarán O'Connor from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on 'conspirituality'
March 22nd, 2025: RTÉ Radio interview with ISD's Ciarán O'Connor about online radicalisation of young men
July 9, 2025: "Anti-migrant mobilisation now 'more organised'" - Coverage of ISD report on Coolock protests and anti-migrant mobilisation.
June 10, 2025: RTÉ Brainstorm article on conspiracy theories belief
ISD Personnel Featured in mainstream Irish media:
Aoife Gallagher (Senior Analyst) - featuring in multiple mainstream articles and interviews
Ciarán O'Connor (Senior Analyst) - regular contributor to RTÉ coverage
Both analysts have been consistently quoted as experts on disinformation, extremism, and online safety. In 2025, ISD’s influence on RTE seems to be rising in terms of sourcing and the visibility of its personnel. The progressive leaning ISD has particularly established itself as a primary source for RTÉ when covering issues related to online extremism, disinformation, far-right activity, and digital safety in Ireland. A fact ISD are quick to advertise and celebrate on their website.
Now, this substack, I believe, was the first publication in the country to spotlight ISD’s role in targeting anti-lockdown, anti-immigration groups and individuals through its biased reports on Ireland. Tarring many of the same as “ far-right “ and extremist. The far-right was a largely alien concept in Ireland back in 2022 but one pushed heavily by ISD, RTE and mainstream Irish media but which is now a term as regularly employed in everyday conversation as “the craic “
Irish anti-lockdown activists targeted by Soros and Gates funded report
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a London-based think tank allegedly founded to initiate discussions to help improve police responses to extremism. It is a non-Irish entity. Now, in more…
In early 2022, as the Ukraine / Russia conflict fully erupted, the Irish government utilized the war moment to unveil and execute its plans to massively increase all non-EU asylum seeker numbers in Ireland unrelated to Ukraine. Hidden in plain sight, and under the cover of war darkness the Irish state began trebling and quadrupling the number of non-Ukrainian refugees flowing into the country. ISD’s role in assisting them cannot be underestimated. The ISD set about introducing alien terms like “ far-right “ into common Irish usage by producing a number of reports targeting oppositional groups and naming individuals. All Irish media lapped up this source material and continue to do so right to this day. The last three years has seen Ireland over-run with refugees of questionable refugee origin.
Even fact checking organisations like Media Bias Fact Check, rates ISD as “Left-center biased,” noting that its focus on right-wing extremism and certain policy recommendations often align with progressive perspectives. However, it also reports that ISD’s work is generally evidence-based and factual. Personally speaking, and in relation to Ireland in particular, I would argue ISD bias leans heavily progressive, very light on evidence (often quoting tweets and social media posts as reference material), and has never produced a report on hard left progressivism or the plethora of progressive leaning NGOs operating and influencing Irish government, Irish state agencies and the Irish media.
So, next time you see an ISD sourced article in the mainstream news remember to bake in a heavy dose of left bias into your calculations about the accuracy of the news item.
Readers can make once off contributions to my work - by clicking the link —> Buy the author a coffee. ☕️
Donations also via Revolut to 085 1214347
Regular readers please now consider upgrading to paid subscription below. New readers can sign up for free to receive my articles by email.
Great work. It takes time and commitment, but these massively funded "change-agents" need to be exposed. Employees of RTE are not journalists. Thank you Gerry .
I'm in the UK, the BBC is the Big Brother of RTE, both are fuckin' liars and propagandists!