NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

Members of the Irish defence forces at the Easter 1916 memorial in Dublin Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

IRELAND

• President Catherine Connolly laid a wreath during a commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin today. 
• An file on the investigation into the death of a newborn baby boy in Co Kerry in 1984 was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
• A new poll showed public support for Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns is tied.
• Tánaiste Simon Harris said it would be “premature” and “foolish” to announce more cost-of-living measures at this time.
• A Labour Party TD recently said evictions were happening at the same rate as during the Famine. The Journal FactCheck team looked into it. 

INTERNATIONAL

Christians gather in St Peter's Square for Pope Leo's Easter blessing Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#WAR: Donald Trump issued his latest threat to destroy Iranian civilian infrastructure in an expletive-laden message on social media. 

#VATICAN: Pope Leo urged “those who have the power to unleash wars” to “choose peace” and criticised global indifference to conflicts, in his first Easter blessing.

#HUNGARY Serbia’s president said explosives had been found at a gas pipeline connected to Hungary, while the Hungarian opposition suggested the incident was a “false flag” ahead of the country’s elections. 

PARTING SHOT

IN ONLINE CULTURE, red-pilling is a term used about someone who believes they’ve uncovered hidden truths about how the world really works.

It is popular among conspiracy theorists (who believe politics and power are shaped by hidden systems and suppressed truths) and among proponents of the manosphere (who argue that society is inherently biased against men).

The concept comes from the film The Matrix, where the protagonist Neo is offered a red pill that allows him to see “how deep the rabbit hole goes”; taking it reveals that humans live inside a vast computer simulation, and allows Neo to escape into the real world.

What I saw on social media this week was the disturbing reversal of that premise.

You can read FactCheck editor Stephen McDermott’s full column here.