VISITORS found a steamy surprise when they visited the Facebook page of one of the Sunny South East’s top tourist attractions over the past week.
The account of the Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford has been hacked with cyber criminals now spamming the page with links to porn and videos of raunchy scenes from Indian TV shows.
But chiefs have been left frustrated by Facebook owner Meta’s refusal to take down the smut-filled page.
And they have been forced to go to media regulator Coimisiun na Mean to seek help in dealing with the social media giant.
The Irish National Heritage Park were locked out of their main Facebook page on November 13, 2023.
The team tried to engage with Facebook to regain access but after weeks of calls and emails they remained locked out.
So on January 12, the Irish National Heritage Park decided they would start a new Facebook page and abandon the old account.
However, on February 17 they became aware their old account had been hijacked and was being used to post what they described as “illegal pornographic content”.
Shocked bosses reported it to Facebook but were again given no help by the social media site.
The Irish National Heritage Park have now made an official report to Coimusiun Na Mean who are looking into the incident.
Most read in The Irish Sun
A spokesperson told The Irish Sun: “On the advice of the commission, we have endeavoured to engage with Facebook, again with no resolution of this issue.
“Coimisiun na Mean are looking into the matter.
“This has been extremely upsetting for all concerned, please be assured we are doing all we can to resolve the matter.”
Some 24 racy videos were posted on the hacked Facebook account over the past ten days.
The clips appear to be risqué scenes from Indian soap operas and have been viewed thousands of times on the page.
The saucy videos are captioned in an attempt to pull in a global audience, with one referencing basketball, the 2022 Fifa World Cup and Bollywood movies.
Above the clip it said: “Heart if you are LAKERS fans hahahah. If you are GWS fans #nbaplayoffs #GoLakers #GoWarriors #FIFAWOrldCup2022 #Messi #bollywood #SuperhitMovie #entertainment #movieclip.”
Each video is followed by a series of comments from accounts encouraging people to click links to watch more videos.
Raunchy links
The hackers also posted links to porn websites with captions urging people to click through for “hot movies” and “X girl sexy.”
Each clip is liked thousands of times — with many of the likes coming from what appear to be fake accounts.
The Irish National Heritage Park is connected to Wexford County Council who have been made aware of the problem with the social media account.
It is famous for its reconstructed sites which show how Irish people lived throughout the ages.
Visitors are able to see a dolmen, a crannog and a Viking ship.
Open museum
The 35-acre outdoor museum opened in 1987 and is based in Ferrycarrig, just outside Wexford Town.
It is a popular destination for school tours but is also visited by thousands of tourists annually.
It offers guided tours through the historical settlements on the bank of the River Slaney.
And punters can experience life as a Viking through an immersive show.
Read more on the Irish Sun
The park also has a birds of prey show and can be booked for corporate events or even weddings.
A Meta spokesperson told The Irish Sun: “We’re looking into this.”