The Irish Light: Woman abused by paper which falsely said vaccine killed her son

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66424582

A grieving mother and her lawyer have been targeted by an extreme campaign of abuse after suing a conspiracy theory newspaper which falsely claimed her son died from a Covid vaccine.The Irish Light repeatedly abused Edel Campbell online and its supporters have threatened her lawyer with "execution".Conspiracy theorists worldwide have used dozens of tragic deaths to spread vaccine misinformation.This case is thought to be the first where a relative has sued.The Irish Light included Ms Campbell's son, Diego Gilsenan, and 41 others in an article last year which suggested the "untested and dangerous" Covid vaccine was to blame for the deaths. In fact, the BBC has been told Diego had taken his own life in August 2021, aged 18, and had not been vaccinated.The campaign of abuse following her legal case has been "nothing short of shocking" and may explain why other relatives have not taken action, Ms Campbell's solicitor, Ciaran Mulholland, told BBC Radio 4's Marianna in Conspiracyland podcast."You can understand why a lot of people were incredibly reluctant to go to a solicitor when they saw the backlash with Edel Campbell," he said.Ms Campbell told the BBC that the Irish Light has "made my life hell" and said she's now fearful of speaking out.The BBC has agreed not to use a photo of Ms Campbell - or her son - for this story to protect her.