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LAST WEEK, A letter purporting to be from the Golf Union of Ireland (GUI) which claimed that golf courses in Ireland were going to reopen from Saturday 2 May circulated on social media.
The letter, dated Tuesday 28 April, informed members of golf clubs in Ireland that the GUI had been informed that golf courses were to reopen the day after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s address on Friday 1 May, in which he announced Ireland’s ‘road map’ for easing Covid-19 restrictions.
The letter states: “We have been notified that as part of the easing of restrictions is that [sic] golf courses will be allowed to open to the general public from Saturday 2nd May.
“They have issued guidelines which will be advertised from each club and will be relayed to its members re: social distancing on and around the golf course.
It continues: “Club houses, restaurants and bars will remain closed. More information will be made available once announcement has been made.”
This is completely false.
Firstly, as is clearly laid out in Ireland’s plan to ease restrictions between 5 May and 10 August in five distinct phases, golf courses are not permitted to reopen until 18 May, when phase one starts.
The reopening of golf courses – along with tennis courts and football pitches – on 18 May is subject to social distancing. A maximum of four people will be allowed play together at any one time.
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Ireland's road map for lifting Covid-19 restrictions. Gov.ie
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Secondly, a GUI spokesperson confirmed to TheJournal.ie that the letter in question is “a prank” and that it should be disregarded.
A spokesperson said: ”The GUI and ILGU are aware of a prank letter circulating on social media and messaging services in relation to the return of golf. Please disregard this.”
Finally, it should be noted that the fake letter is signed by CEO of Golf Union Ireland Owen Lee and Golf-Co-ordinator Joe King.
Whoever wrote this letter claiming golf courses would reopen 16 days before they are due to was, in fact, Only Joking.
***
There is a lot of false news and scaremongering being spread in Ireland at the moment about coronavirus. Here are some practical ways for you to assess whether the messages that you’re seeing – especially on WhatsApp – are true or not.
STOP, THINK AND CHECK
Look at where it’s coming from. Is it someone you know? Do they have a source for the information (e.g. the HSE website) or are they just saying that the information comes from someone they know? A lot of the false news being spread right now is from people claiming that messages from ‘a friend’ of theirs. Have a look yourself – do a quick Google search and see if the information is being reported elsewhere.
Secondly, get the whole story, not just a headline. A lot of these messages have got vague information (“all the doctors at this hospital are panicking”) and don’t mention specific details. This is often – but not always a sign – that it may not be accurate.
Finally, see how you feel after reading it. A lot of these false messages are designed to make people feel panicked. They’re deliberately manipulating your feelings to make you more likely to share it. If you feel panicked after reading something, check it out and see if it really is true.
TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here
Have you gotten a message on WhatsApp or Facebook or Twitter about coronavirus that you’re not sure about and want us to check it out? Message or mail us and we’ll look into debunking it. WhatsApp: 085 221 4696 or Email: answers@thejournal.ie
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Seeing these ***res get pumped up PR wise makes me angry, I’d say I’d be even more so if I had daughters. Whats it teaching them? Don’t be intelligent, don’t work hard, don’t develop yourself don’t have a career plan, just accidentally on purpose release a porn tape of yourself naked taking a hammering from behind for the whole world to see, act dumb, ignorant and light headed, fake date a few famous guys being seen holding their hand on red carpets in front of dumb photographers and you’ll get $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$…do it the other way you can still make it…and be paid $0.70c for every situation where a man makes $1.
You can even run to become the first female President after decades of hard work and compromise…and then some PR man will tell you that you have to associate with one of the ones who released a tape of herself being jackhammered and acted like a dumb sh111t as part of bringing in the youth vote.
So right Ryan, I simply wouldn’t bother if I was her, I’d sooner not be President, it smacks of desperation if she thinks that can get her the youth vote, most young people would see through that instantly
Maybe not Vin but they still won’t vote for her just because she took a selfie with Kim Kardashian. So she’s lost street cred with those who look down on the Kardashians – a sizeable demographic – without gaining anything in return
Wow. America is truly f*cked. I would be ashamed if I was American. Imagine having to stoop that low in order to get some publicity. The majority of that aliens followers on Twitter won’t even know who Clinton is. Probably think it’s a selfie before she goes on to the Ellen show.
exactly, imagine our country voting for a president because she had a photograph taken with a woman famous for being a cum bucket. A good looking cum bucket. but still a cum bucket.
Is anyone a little freaked out by by this alliance between the Kardashians and Klintons? What if they join forces with the Ronulans? They could be headed for the neutral zone as we speak!
Gotta love the Dems…they’re so weak and ashamed of being liberals they are willing to vote for anyone the establishment says is ”centrist”. So you have Hillary going about with progressive language and speeches so another 08 does not happen. When she bashes the too big to fail banks who are funding her campaign they respond to the WSJ’s questions with “don’t worry, we know she doesn’t mean it”…seriously they said that.
You have a candidate faking working for the voters, a special interest group admitting that they’ve basically got the candidate bought and paid for in a major world newspaper…and yet this person is still the absolute front runner, that’s when you know you have a broken system!
so basically idiots who care about the Kardashians are being influenced to vote for Hillary for no other reason than photos with her. So in a round about way, the Kardashians are influencing the vote as to who could have their finger on the nuclear button. This is how crazzzy the world has become
Made out to be a spur if the moment thing. Sad fact is that this has probably been planned for months and even sadder it will probably have a very positive effect for Hilary.
Hang on… Fox News hosted a monster two-part Republican candidates debate last night (which may well determine the future POTUS) and The Journal stages a blackout of it. Instead they publish an article about the probable Democrat nominee getting photos taken with a family of talentless attention-junkies?
The Journal just doesn’t make sense to me anymore.
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