27 Jan 2025

The GAA catfish and fake online profiles: how can people protect themselves from social media deceit?

‘Catfishing’ might sound like an amusing term but it’s far from amusing for those who are caught up in such scams. The GAA catfish story, brought to light by The 2 Johnnies Podcast, attracted the attention of many listeners and led to complaints about further catfishing incidents being filed with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

These incidents underscore the growing issue of digital fraud and catfishing, raising critical questions about the responsibilities of social media companies and the rights of those affected. AI tools are likely to increase the amount and sophistication of such scams.

Despite obligations to remove offending accounts, many social media platforms have scaled back on fact-checking and verification. This shift has left social media users more vulnerable to deceptive practices like catfishing.

A recent Irish Times article highlights two important questions:

What are the rights of individuals whose identities are used without their knowledge or who are targeted by catfishing?

What are the responsibilities of social media companies in preventing such scams?

Click here to read the full article.