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.
Speaking to RTÉ's Six One News, he said posts targeting him were "very personal in nature" and were predominantly aimed at his family and friends.
He said it has been "normalised in society" that a person can spread misinformation and abuse online without facing consequences, adding that social media should not be a toxic place.
"I'm taking a stand for my family and friends to say this is not good enough," he said.
"Our kids use social media, it's their go to. There has been some tragic examples of misuse against kids and sadly some consequences. I want to see the Media Commission, I want to see the companies taking strong action against this."
Mr Gavin said that as a father he is concerned about his family but they are "good, they're strong" and he looks forward to seeing what the Media Commission's next steps will be.
He said society needs to say that misinformation and abuse online is not acceptable and must stop.
"Meta have already responded and they have taken very proactive action, that misinformation, that abuse has been taken off their two platforms. I'd hope X and TikTok will do similar," he added.
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".
"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.
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