Fianna Fáil presidential candidate Jim Gavin has criticised social media posts circulating about him, saying his family and friends should not be subject to online abuse and smears.
In a statement issued on his behalf by Fianna Fáil, the posts are referred to as destructive and vicious smears.
Mr Gavin has written to social media companies and Coimisiún na Meán.
In recent days, social media has been flooded with stories about the presidential candidate, which he says are "invented and utterly false".
Mr Gavin has written to X, TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. He said Meta has taken several posts down but there has been no response from X and TikTok.
"I refuse to accept that the price of participating in public life should involve having to put your family and friends through waves of online abuse and malicious smears," he said.
"This is not the cost of service - it is a failure of our digital culture."
Mr Gavin says online disinformation has become a major problem.
"Every person in our country knows the real and growing threat posed by online hate and disinformation. It is one of the forces driving the growing division and conflict in many societies. It is the cause of mental health issues amongst our young people due to online bullying and harassment.
"I will continue to take whatever action is necessary to confront this appalling feature of social media. We all need to call it out for what it is: totally unacceptable. Social media companies must do far more to protect people from such nasty and destructive behaviour online."
RTÉ is aware of the contents of the social media posts Mr Gavin has complained about.
