Bomb threats sent to four Irish media outlets on Friday prompted evacuations at three of them, according to POLITICO. Newsrooms at RTÉ, Virgin Media TV, the Irish Independent and Newstalk received identically worded emails claiming bombs had been left in their offices. RTÉ and Newstalk programming was disrupted, and Virgin Media kept broadcasting. Police confirmed they found no suspicious devices.

An Irish government official told POLITICO the threats were almost certainly linked to next week's European Political Community summit in Dublin. The official said, "one must presume it's no coincidence that we're experiencing this spike in hybrid activity now." The official spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to name Russia as the likely culprit, though other EU partners, including Denmark, had drawn such links before.

The Irish government said the media threats were probably part of a wider European pattern. That pattern includes threats against dozens of airlines this week, among them Ryanair and Aer Lingus. The government's statement said, "It is not known yet who is responsible for these threats, whether it is individuals or a centralized or coordinated effort." Hackers also targeted supermarket refrigeration systems in at least seven European countries, according to the report.

Bomb threats also hit at least 18 European flights on Friday, after at least 22 the day before. Hungary scrambled fighter jets in response to threats involving three passenger aircraft. Prague Airport said nine flights were targeted, France reported four threats against aircraft over its territory, and Bulgaria said two flights bound for Sofia were targeted.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told TVE the flight threats could be "an attempt at hybrid aggression." IAG CEO Luis Gallego said the perpetrators appear to be "looking for is to create chaos and disruption in the different airports."

The European Political Community, created in 2022, brings together leaders of 47 countries and several bodies, including NATO. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is attending the Dublin summit. Irish police Superintendent Liam Geraghty told reporters, "We have not seen a policing and security operation of this scale ever before in Ireland."