Digital Politics & Misinformation
Who controls what you see online?
Can you spot a political ad?
What is a filter bubble?
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
Think about your social media feeds...
What's the LAST political post you saw online? Did you agree or disagree with it?
Can you name 3 different news sources? Do you trust them all equally?
Have you ever shared something online that turned out to be false?
💬 Discuss with a partner for 2 minutes, then share with the class
Core values & beliefs that guide a party's decisions
Organisations that push parties on specific issues (unions, business groups)
TV, radio, newspapers – still massive reach in Australia
Targeted ads, reels, posts – reaches you specifically
Used to shape strategy and make parties look electable
Structured events, door-knocking, rallies, debates
Shows the candidate doing good things – smiling families, promises of a better future. Builds warm feelings (even if vague!).
Real-time audience reaction tracked as a line on screen. Party spin doctors coach leaders to score high on key moments.
Parties tell supporters who to rank #2, #3 etc. Minor parties can 'direct' votes to majors in exchange for policy promises.
Attacks the opponent – often emotional or scary. Research shows it's highly effective, even if voters say they hate it.
Every statement is carefully crafted. 'Spin doctors' control the message, limit difficult questions, and manage journalists.
You'll analyse 3 real political ads. For each one, identify:
Is it positive or negative?
What feeling is it trying to create?
What is it promising or claiming?
Does it provide any proof?
Who do you think this ad is aimed at?
Labor wants all Australians to have access to a free bulk billing doctor.
The center of your personalized feed
Your social circle reinforces your existing views
Algorithms serve you more of what you already engage with
FILTER BUBBLE (algorithm wall)
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
The Big Debate: How much should government control online content?
Platforms operate globally. Australian laws can't easily regulate American companies.
Blocking content protects some people but may silence others. Who decides what's 'harmful'?
Billions of posts daily. Humans can't review it all; algorithms make mistakes.
Tech giants have enormous lobbying power. Governments struggle to hold them accountable.
Before you go – answer these 3 questions on your worksheet:
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? Give an example of each.
Explain how a filter bubble could change how someone votes. Use the words 'algorithm' and 'echo chamber' in your answer.
Give ONE reason why regulating social media is difficult. Do you think governments should try? Explain.
WHO'S PULLING YOUR STRINGS?