Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I couldn't possibly comment on those earlier words, Speaker. You're always fair. At the last federal election in Moreton, the Liberal-National coalition put a corflute up that had a pointing finger and a headline that said, 'Labor lie.' The finger was pointed at a corflute of me. I always thought referring to me as a liar was odd, because I think therefore I am. For many elections, someone in Moreton spent a lot of time distributing flyers that said I was the writer of pornographic material and that my mother had disowned me for it. Incidentally, neither of these statements were true. The campaign backfired because so many residents were offended at receiving these lies in their letterbox—and it was also very good for my book sales!

My point here is that most politicians have probably been subject to some form of misinformation during their political careers—heightened, of course, around elections. Factors like foreign interference and cyberattacks are acknowledged as credible threats at such times. But what has changed is the veracity of social media and the misinformation it regurgitates. We've seen a proliferation of AI generated text, images, video, audio and deepfakes, and much of this information is homegrown. The Acting Australian Electoral Commissioner, Jeff Pope, said:

We're seeing sovereign citizens and conspiracy theorists and keyboard warriors, who don't want to reveal their identity. They do want to stir the pot and cause problems.

People seem more susceptible to believing misinformation they read and watch online compared to what is dropped in their letterbox, often because it's unwittingly shared by someone they agree with or trust.

We're now more than familiar with the proliferation of fake news, and it is impossible to avoid fake ads on social media. They're linked to scam activities designed to fleece victims, as the minister at the table can attest, which makes some of the latest Greens political party fundraising efforts in Queensland very suspect indeed. Recently the Greens admitted to photoshopping their own anti-Greens ad to increase its impact. The doctored image contains a menacing green goblin alongside the words 'the Greens are coming to get you'. The members for Ryan, Brisbane and Griffith all blithely posted the fake ad on their Facebook pages, alongside lengthy complaints about it and, of course, pleas for donations—generate outrage and ask for money. Given the Greens political party's highly publicised stance against mis- and disinformation, their actions are disingenuous and hypocritical—but they're on brand. The party that spread harmful and socially divisive disinformation about weapons and ammunition exports to Israel does not blink at doctoring their ads to make money. Why let facts and truth get in the way of your political agenda?

Mis- and disinformation are not always signposted by a cartoon gremlin. This recent incident is a timely reminder that we all need to be on our guard as the federal election approaches, especially while scrolling through social media. An Australia Institute report released after the 2022 federal election found that political parties spent over $12 million on social media advertising in the last two months of the campaign alone. The same report stated:

… misinformation and disinformation were widespread during the election with 73% of voters reporting exposure to misleading political advertising, and 43% of those saying they saw this "once a day or more often."

The Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce defines misinformation as:

… false, misleading or deceptive information, that is spread due to ignorance, by error or mistake, or without the intent to deceive. It can include made-up news articles, doctored images and videos and false information shared on social media.

'Doctored images'—I stress that. This is exactly what the Greens political party in Queensland deliberately released. The taskforce definition of disinformation is:

… the deliberate spread of false information to deceive or mislead for malicious or deceptive purposes. This can cause confusion and undermine trust in government and institutions.

Political parties should be leading the way in making sure their messaging, whether it be in reports of parliamentary activity, advertising or social media posts, does not mislead voters. The same applies to activist groups working behind political parties in the shadows financing misleading advertising. Remember that porno flyer I mentioned earlier? It was authorised using a fake name and fake address in my electorate.

Ultimately, the best advice for voters comes from the taskforce, to think about what they're reading, hearing and watching, and to stop and consider the source of the information when weighing up voting decisions. As the AEC says, Australia has one of the most trusted electoral systems in the world, and we all have a responsibility to protect it. Don't risk what we have. I call out the three Greens members elected in the chamber and some of the candidates and ask them to make sure they apologise for that misleading doctoring of an ad.

House adjourned at 17 : 0 0

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Archer ) took the chair at 09:37, a division having been called in the House of Representatives.