AN ACCOUNT THAT was suspended from the social media platform X has formed the basis of a false claim that President Catherine Connolly was barred from the social media platform.

Connolly’s team closed an X account under her old handle, @CatherineGalway, weeks ago. But an impersonator since tried to start an account using that username and was subsequently suspended – but this was not Connolly herself.

Despite this, many social media posts published on 23 December appear to celebrate what they claim is the president’s suspension on the platform, as well as otherwise insulting her.

“I can’t breathe for the laughter,” begins one expletive-laden series of posts on X that include a screenshot saying “@CatherineGalway. Account suspended”.

“@elonmusk your platform has reached its peak moment… it has blocked the leftist President of Ireland and rightly so,” say the posts, screenshots of which were also shared on other platforms.

“The president of Irish Palestinian Republic is banned,” reads another post on Facebook featuring a similar screenshot. 

A spokesperson for President Connolly said the account with the username “@CatherineGalway” had been shut down by her team following the election in October, and that the handle was no longer under her control.

The account appeared to share a video of Connolly’s Christmas address on Monday 22 December, before being suspended by X, prompting speculation that the president’s personal account had been removed by the platform.

“Someone opened it up again, not Catherine,” the spokesperson said.

The Journal reported at the time that the Áras an Uachtaráin communications team reported the account to X after becoming aware that it had been reactivated and was posting content while purporting to represent the president.

Connolly’s original account had been deleted on the day of her presidential inauguration, allowing an imposter to subsequently claim the username. The account was not verified, however.

The suspended account is distinct from President Connolly’s official presidential profile (@PresidentIRL), which remains active.

Impersonation breaches X’s platform rules and commonly results in account removal.

With reporting from Andrew Walsh.

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