John Waters is a former Irish Times, Irish Independent and Hot Press journalist. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2020 general election for the Dun Laoghaire constituency as a member of Anti-Corruption Ireland, which was not a registered political party, meaning he appeared on the ballot as an independent. He and far-right activist Gemma O'Doherty took a legal challenge against Covid-19 lockdown measures, which was eventually dismissed by the Supreme Court.