WHO'S PULLING YOUR STRINGS?
Digital Politics & Misinformation
1
Who controls what you see online?
2
Can you spot a political ad?
3
What is a filter bubble?
Learning Intentions
By the end of today, you will be able to...
🎯 Explain: how political parties and candidates try to influence voters using traditional and social media
🎯 Identify: key campaign strategies including political advertising, spin, and preference deals
🎯 Describe: how social media creates echo chambers and filter bubbles that affect political views
🎯 Recognise: the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and why it spreads
🔥 Hook: The Algorithm Game
Think about your social media feeds...
1
What's the LAST political post you saw online? Did you agree or disagree with it?
2
Can you name 3 different news sources? Do you trust them all equally?
3
Have you ever shared something online that turned out to be false?
💬 Discuss with a partner for 2 minutes, then share with the class
How Do Parties Win Your Vote?
Ideology
Core values & beliefs that guide a party's decisions
Interest Groups
Organisations that push parties on specific issues (unions, business groups)
Traditional Media
TV, radio, newspapers – still massive reach in Australia
Social Media
Targeted ads, reels, posts – reaches you specifically
Opinion Polls
Used to shape strategy and make parties look electable
Campaigns
Structured events, door-knocking, rallies, debates
⚔️ Campaign Strategies
Positive Advertising
Shows the candidate doing good things – smiling families, promises of a better future. Builds warm feelings (even if vague!).
Leaders' Debates & The Worm
Real-time audience reaction tracked as a line on screen. Party spin doctors coach leaders to score high on key moments.
Preference Deals
Parties tell supporters who to rank #2, #3 etc. Minor parties can 'direct' votes to majors in exchange for policy promises.
Negative Advertising
Attacks the opponent – often emotional or scary. Research shows it's highly effective, even if voters say they hate it.
Media Management & Spin
Every statement is carefully crafted. 'Spin doctors' control the message, limit difficult questions, and manage journalists.
🕵️ ACTIVITY: AD DETECTIVES
You'll analyse 3 real political ads. For each one, identify:
1. Type
Is it positive or negative?
2. Emotion
What feeling is it trying to create?
3. Claim
What is it promising or claiming?
4. Evidence
Does it provide any proof?
5. Target
Who do you think this ad is aimed at?

Record your answers on your worksheet! ✍️
Ad 1: Labor will strengthen Medicare
Labor wants all Australians to have access to a free bulk billing doctor.
Ad 2: Trump 2024 Campaign Ad - Kamala Harris is Radical
Ad 3: The Greens (Au) - Affordable Housing

📱 Social Media Shapes Politics
How Platforms Shape Political Messaging
  • Algorithms reward outrage – angry posts get more engagement
  • Short formats (reels, stories) favour simple slogans over complex policy
  • Micro-targeting: ads shown only to specific voter profiles based on your data
  • Influencers are paid to promote political messages without disclosure
Echo Chambers & Filter Bubbles
You
The center of your personalized feed
People who agree with you
Your social circle reinforces your existing views
Similar content
Algorithms serve you more of what you already engage with
FILTER BUBBLE (algorithm wall)
🫧 Echo Chambers & Polarisation
Echo Chamber
What is it?
When you only hear opinions you already agree with. Social media groups, pages and feeds that reinforce your existing views.
Example:
You only follow accounts that share your political views, so you think everyone agrees with you.
Filter Bubble
What is it?
The algorithm curates what you see based on what you've liked before – filtering out different viewpoints automatically.
Example:
YouTube keeps recommending videos with the same political leaning because you watched one.
Political Polarisation
What is it?
Society splitting into extreme camps with little middle ground. Echo chambers and filter bubbles make this worse.
Example:
People from different political sides are less able to have civil conversations online.
Echo Chambers
🚨 Misinformation vs Disinformation
MISINFORMATION
False info shared WITHOUT intent to deceive
✅ Example: Someone shares a story about a politician that's been proven false – but they genuinely believed it was true.
Why it spreads:
  • Emotional content spreads faster than factual content
  • People share before they think
  • Algorithms reward engagement
DISINFORMATION
False info shared WITH intent to deceive
⚠️ Example: A political campaign deliberately spreads a fake quote from the opposition leader to damage their reputation.
Tactics used:
  • Deepfakes and doctored images
  • Fake 'news' websites
  • Foreign interference campaigns
🌐 Foreign Interference & Data Privacy
Foreign Interference
  • Foreign governments or groups try to influence elections in other countries
  • Methods: fake social media accounts, disinformation campaigns, hacking, funding extremist content
  • Examples: Russian interference in 2016 US election; Chinese influence operations in Taiwan
  • Australia's ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre) monitors threats to our elections
Your Data & Micro-Targeting
  • Every like, share, and search creates a data profile of your political views
  • Political parties buy this data to target specific voters with specific messages
  • Cambridge Analytica scandal: millions of Facebook profiles used without consent to influence elections
  • In Australia, political parties are exempt from privacy laws – they can use your data freely

🤔 Big Question: Should political parties be able to use your social media data? Why/why not?
⚖️ Regulating Social Media
The Big Debate: How much should government control online content?
🌍 Who Has Jurisdiction?
Platforms operate globally. Australian laws can't easily regulate American companies.
🗣️ Free Speech vs Harm
Blocking content protects some people but may silence others. Who decides what's 'harmful'?
🤖 Scale
Billions of posts daily. Humans can't review it all; algorithms make mistakes.
💰 Platform Power
Tech giants have enormous lobbying power. Governments struggle to hold them accountable.

Approaches tried: Content removal | Platform fines | Transparency laws (Aust. 2024) | Age limits | Government oversight boards
✅ Lesson Review – Exit Ticket
Before you go – answer these 3 questions on your worksheet:
1
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? Give an example of each.
2
Explain how a filter bubble could change how someone votes. Use the words 'algorithm' and 'echo chamber' in your answer.
3
Give ONE reason why regulating social media is difficult. Do you think governments should try? Explain.

🏠 Homework: Find ONE political ad online. Be ready to share – what strategy does it use?