James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

But guess what, Senator Scarr? When this number was called, a recorded voicemail message said: 'Hi, you've called Ed Coper. Thanks for calling.' An audio recording of that voicemail exists, and I'm more than happy to table it, should senators wish.

Who is this Ed Coper, you may ask? Surely he can't be the Ed Coper who in the last year has become something of a go-to guy for the media on fake news and disinformation. This Ed Coper is the founder and executive director of the New York based Center for Impact Communications, a non-profit research centre dedicated to establishing best practice for social impact communications and that Ed Coper who is the author of Facts and Other Lies: Welcome to the Disinformation Age which has received considerable think tank, TV, radio and print exposure and has been hailed by Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan, Malcolm Turnbull and, ironically, Bernard Keane from Crikey. An SMH profile noted that Ed Coper has worked with Greta Thunberg on her communications and advocacy campaigns.

In Fact and Other Lies, Ed Coper noted that the UN body responsible for addressing disinformation has identified astroturfing campaigns as a potentially harmful disinformation practice.