- Councillor John Maher condemned an AI-generated disinformation campaign involving fake Cork City Council documents.
- The false claims alleged a building would become an asylum accommodation center via WhatsApp.
- Authorities clarified that local councils do not designate international protection centers, as that is a national function.
(CORK, IRELAND) — Labour Party councillor John Maher condemned what he called an AI-generated disinformation campaign after digitally altered Cork City Council documents circulated in local WhatsApp groups and falsely claimed the council proposed turning a disused Cork building into an asylum accommodation centre.
The AI-generated material, shared in WhatsApp chats, purported to show the council seeking planning permission to convert the old Keating’s Fitted Furniture building on Ballyhooly Road into an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre for asylum seekers and refugees. Cork City Council did not make that proposal.
Maher, a Cork City councillor, linked the false claim to public confusion about what the council had actually discussed and what role it plays in asylum accommodation decisions. He described the campaign as “cowardly and despicable AI-generated false news that doesn’t help one person in our community or city.”
The councillor said the reality was different from the WhatsApp claim. At the January council meeting, Maher proposed that the council compulsorily purchase the property for “a shared space for business, community and residential” use.
Cork City Council acknowledged it was aware of what it called “inaccurate and misleading information” circulating online about the former Keating’s site. A council spokesperson said the local authority was currently determining its interest in the property and would provide an update in due course.
Maher also used his response to underline a governance split that made the circulated documents misleading. He said local authorities do not designate IPAS centres and that this is a function of government departments that engage directly with property owners.
That distinction became central as residents tried to make sense of official-looking pages that appeared to carry council branding and planning language. The digitally altered documents, presented as council paperwork, framed the Ballyhooly Road building as if it sat inside a council-backed plan for an IPAS facility, even as Maher said his own proposal related to compulsory purchase for mixed use.
Keating’s Fitted Furniture, the property named in the false claim, is a disused building on Ballyhooly Road that has become the focus of public discussion because it is under consideration in a council context. The council did not announce any decision on the property’s future use, beyond saying it was determining its interest and would update later.
The WhatsApp rumour worked by tying a specific address and a recognisable local building to a claim of imminent official action, using altered council documents to lend it credibility. The effect, as described by Maher and reflected in the council’s response, included confusion about what councillors had proposed and what the council could decide, with the IPAS claim presented as if it were a local authority initiative.
In his comments, Maher emphasised that government departments, not local councils, handle the designation of IPAS accommodation, and that those departments deal directly with property owners. Cork City Council’s statement focused on correcting the immediate record, while keeping its position limited to its consideration of the property and its promise of an update.
The episode has drawn attention locally to how quickly AI-generated content can circulate in private messaging channels, and how altered documents can blur lines between fabricated claims and real council debate. For Maher, the false news was not only about the Ballyhooly Road building, but about misdirecting public understanding of who makes decisions on asylum accommodation and how those decisions are taken.
Cork City Council said it would provide an update in due course on its interest in the former Keating’s site, while Maher continued to push back on the IPAS claim attached to the building. “Cowardly and despicable AI-generated false news that doesn’t help one person in our community or city,” he said.
