Media organisations in Ireland and UK targeted with bomb threats

Several buildings have had to be evacuated.

Several media organisations across Ireland and the UK have received bomb threats this morning (Friday, 6 November).

In Ireland, the broadcasters and newspapers said to be affected are Bauer Media (which controls Newstalk and Today FM), the Irish Independent, RTÉ, and Virgin Media.

According to various reports, staff at these media organisations' buildings have had to be evacuated after the threats were received via email, disrupting news coverage.

JOE has obtained a copy of the email. The person who sent it to broadcasters and newspapers claims they are "one of the leaders of the group" behind the wave of other bomb threats against airlines and airports in recent days.

The threatening email reads:

"Hello. I am one of the leaders of the group responsible for the bomb threats against airplanes in Europe over the past week.

"European authorities have once again shown that they are incompetent fools who are incapable of doing anything to stop us.

"We experimented with multithreading, and we succeeded in causing widespread panic, as well as forcing European authorities to spend a fortune on all these procedures.

"But this is only the beginning. What happened this week is just a small part of what awaits Europe in the near future.

"Right now, we’re preparing a new wave of attacks. Right now, we’re recruiting residents of your countries who are actively cooperating with us. We’ve also gained access to compromised devices, servers, and accounts belonging to residents of Europe, as well as those outside its borders—which will allow us to use this against you.

"Very soon, we will be blowing up your airplanes, cruise ships, subway stations, and trains. In the meantime, I recommend taking a vacation by plane while you still have the chance.

"We want the whole world to know about us, which is why one of our operatives has planted an explosive device in your building. It will detonate in 45 minutes.

"The clock is ticking."

JOE reached out to An Garda Síochána for a statement about the bomb threats to media organisations in Ireland.

A Garda spokesperson responded: "An Garda Síochána is aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe.

"An Garda Síochána has been liaising with the Irish media organisations and the threats will be investigated."

Main image via Adobe Stock and Rolling News