AAP FACTCHECK – Ireland’s new hate crime laws have sparked false claims on social media that you can be arrested for wronging someone.

Irish legal experts say the law only applies where there is intent to cause harm or social disruption and does not cover accidental reference to someone of the wrong sex.

The false claim is made in a series of Facebook posts that share similar text. Posts are shared by Australian users.

“Ireland passes law allowing police to arrest citizens who accidentally use wrong pronouns,” the caption of the photo in a post states.

The post includes a link to an article with that title from The People’s Voice, a site that AAP FactCheck he lied several times.

The article continues: “The Irish parliament passed a new law on Wednesday, allowing police to arrest citizens who divide others – even if it’s an accident.”

The law to which the article refers is that of Ireland The Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Act 2022which passed Dáil Eireannor the lower house of the Irish parliament on October 23.

Irish legal experts said AAP FactCheck the new law could not be used to prosecute people for wronging someone.

Luke Noonanlaw lecturer and co-director of the Irish Legal Information Initiative, said the legislation increased penalties for existing hate crimes in relation to a protected characteristic such as race or sex.

But, Dr Noonan said, accidentally impersonating a person is not an offense under Irish law.

He said the law sets the threshold for a hate crime as a crime that requires an intent “to cause a breach of the peace or be reckless as to whether a breach of the peace may be occasioned.”

“Inadvertently wronging someone would not meet that threshold,” he said.

Fiona Donsona human rights expert at University College Cork, explained that the law establishes gender as a protected category, but that this has been twisted by critics to suggest that anyone who accidentally wrongs another person could be arrested.

Dr Donson said any claim suggesting Irish police could use this law to arrest people for unintentionally using someone’s incorrect gender was “a completely incorrect representation of the law”.

The article in the post also refers to the case of former Irish teacher Enoch Burke, whose arrest was the subject misleading statements disproved by AAP FactCheck.

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