President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca claims she was not aware that she was a member of several Facebook groups set up by Labour Party supporters, where hate-filled comments were posted.
The President would not, however, say whether she would be ensuring the Facebook groups were removed, despite having called for a law on cyberbullying last year.
An investigation by news portal The Shift News revealed this week that Ms Coleiro Preca was a member of a number of these groups, together with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and several top government officials, including chief of staff Keith Schembri, Economy Minister Chris Cardona and various consultants.
The groups, the portal found, are often used to share comments calling for activists to be physically attacked, stalked and even sexually assaulted.
When the Times of Malta contacted the President’s office about her involvement in these groups, a spokeswoman insisted that Ms Coleiro Preca was “surprised to discover her name was in some way associated with such groups”.
The spokeswoman went on to point out that the President had taken “immediate steps” to ensure she was no longer a member but gave no details on what these steps were.
“It is an unfortunate reality that those active in public life can sometimes unwittingly find themselves in such groups, while being completely unaware of their contents, and Her Excellency has absolutely no hesitation in dissociating herself from them,” the spokeswoman went on.
A formal statement issued on Wednesday morning said: "The President has consistently and unreservedly condemned any type of bullying or threats of violence irrespective of their source and vociferously advocates that such abhorrent sentiments have no place in Maltese society."
No reply was forthcoming on whether the President has, in any way, attempted to have the group shut down in light of the violent and abusive comments and since some remarks could also be in breach of Malta’s Data Protection Act.
On Tuesday, Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi, speaking in Parliament, called on the President to ask the Police Commissioner to initiate criminal action against those who were “clearly” breaking the law.