Outrage as Dublin Councillor shares AI 'final solution' video praising Adolf Hitler
Dublin City Councillors have voiced their opposition to anti-semitism after a councillor posted a now deleted video calling for a “real final solution” to Jewish people.
Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan tabled a rejected emergency motion to the South Central Area committee calling for representatives to not promote racism, homophobia, or anti-semitic consent on social media in light of Independent Cllr Philip Sutcliffe posting the offensive Whatsapp status. The 76-second video posted on Monday included footage of Adolf Hitler and a voice-over praising him for allegedly warning about current events.
Listing a series of anti-semitic tropes blaming Jewish people for “degenerate Hollywood”, pornography and “white replacement,” it included offensive and anti-Semitic images depicting Jewish people. The video in question described Jewish people as "satanic" and falsely said Jesus referred to them as “the spawn of Satan”.
The voiceover stated “the world has a serious Jewish problem” and said it is “time to wake up and find a real final solution for this eternal menace to save civilization”. The video was visible to anyone on Cllr Sutcliffe’s contact list, and the associate and coach of MMA fighter Conor McGregor told The Irish Times that he “probably shared something I shouldn’t have”.
“I don’t normally use the thing. I share things alright. What video are you talking about?” he asked. “Somebody just shared it to me and I probably just pushed the share button. I probably didn’t even read it.”
The Ballyfermot-Drimnagh representative claims he does not endorse the views expressed in the video, stating: “I don’t think I even looked at that one to tell you the truth”. He said: “If it’s on my page I probably just shared something that I shouldn’t have. I’ll have a look at it now.”
Cllr Doolan said it is "absolutely appalling that any councillor would use a social media platform to promote such an insidious device of endangered sentiment”. While his emergency motion was rejected on the grounds that it did not constitute an emergency and could be tabled through the regular channels, Cllr Doolan said he was appealing this decision.
“We need to send out a loud and clear message that that is absolutely objectionable and we don’t stand for it and we don’t support it,” he said. Cllr Doolan said it is his belief that anyone promoting such views “should face justice and the full rigours of the law”.
Following this, Cllr Sutcliffe, who was attending the meeting virtually, indicated he wished to speak. However, when he was called upon, the video remained silent and he had his camera turned off.
Chairperson Cllr Vincent Jackson agreed that the council “accepts the sentiment” of the motion and, although it was not officially on the agenda, that as a group of elected representatives they deplore any dissemination of information that carries hateful rhetoric toward people based on skin colour, religion, or sexual orientation.
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