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The stock photo for sale on Adobe. The image of the woman was used in a press release from Irexit Freedom Party claiming she was their candidate, Mairead Donovan, for the local elections in Killarney.
A SINN Féin candidate in the Killarney Local Election Area has called on the Irexit Freedom Party to explain the announcement of a candidate with a fake profile photo circulated in a press release to local media.
John Buckley was contacted by a fellow Sinn Féin member after discovering that the photo of a Mairead Donovan was a stock image for sale on the Adobe website under ‘Senior Woman With A Walking Stick’.
In a press release circulated to local media last week, Mairead Donovan, was described as being a 72 year old retired nurse and grandmother originally from Kilkenny, who was running for the party in the local elections in May.
However, Irexit have since claimed it was ‘fake news’ and said it did not issue the press release. A link, provided in the press release, to a profile page for Mairead Donovan on the Irexit Freedom website has since been removed.
“It is astounding that any party or group would try and pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate of Kerry with this stunt,” said John Buckley.
“Using a stock photo as your candidate’s profile picture is truly one of the most absurd ideas I have ever seen in an election campaign.”
“Irexit need to explain to the people of the Killarney Local Election Area what exactly they are playing at. It is truly bizarre and unbelievable how they thought they would get away with it,” he said.
