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AN IMAGE SHARED on social media that looks like the headline of a legitimate news article contains a fake quote that is attributed to TD Paul Murphy.
The image was shared by a number of accounts on different social media platforms, including on X, Facebook, and TikTok.
On Facebook, it was shared by an account named An Claíomh Solais, whose post about it received over 550 reactions and 226 comments. The account has 10,000 ‘likes’ and over 46,000 followers.
The biographical information on the account states that its intention is to “reprint articles from the original An Claíomh Solais”.
An Claíomh Solais (or An Claidheamh Soluis) was a nationalist publication from the early 20th century. However, the social media account under its name regularly shares anti-immigrant content and is openly hostile to left-wing politicians.
The post in question contains a what appears to be a screengrab of a headline from the Irish News, a Northern Ireland based media outlet, reporting a quote from Murphy and a picture of him.
The quote states: “‘I have sand in my underpants, and I’ve already been misgendered twice by Egyptian police. It’s utterly barbaric’ sobs TD Paul Murphy.” A date on the image shows 13 June 2025.
The post contains the caption: “Spare a thought for poor oul Murphy who’s been arrested in Egypt”.
The image of Murphy was used by a number of legitimate media outlets (including The Journal), and is taken from a screengrab of a video posted by the TD on X on 13 June.
At the time, Murphy and thousands of others had travelled to Egypt to hold demonstrations at the country’s border with Palestine and to take place in the Global March for Gaza.
However, Egyptian authorities detained hundreds of people at the border, including Murphy.
He was later released but detained again when he attended a Cairo police station to retrieve his phone, which had been taken from him. He was released a second time and later returned to Ireland.
Murphy provided multiple updates via social media during his trip to Egypt. However, at no point did he say the above quote that is attributed to him.
A Google search shows no credible news sources containing the quote, from 13 June or at any other point, and it does not feature on the Irish News website.
Murphy has been an advocate for the right of LGBTQ+ people, and two years ago said in an interview that he would not be gendering the child he had with his partner.
Since then, he has received widespread abuse over this decision online, and the fake quote appears to reference that. However, it is clear from the context and from searching online that the quote is not legitimate.
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