Victoria's electoral chief backs education over disinformation rules

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 16 Oct, 18:02 · Archive

Victoria's electoral commissioner says teaching voters to spot false information is the best defence against online disinformation ahead of the state election.

Victoria's Electoral Commissioner Sven Bluemmel says the best defence against online disinformation is to educate voters to tell truth from falsehood. He made the comments at a Monash University forum ahead of Victoria's November 28 election, the largest in the state's history with 4.7 million registered voters, of whom about 75,000 will vote for the first time.

Young people aged 18 to 24 will make up about 10 per cent of the vote. Most get their news from social media, with about half citing TikTok. Mr Bluemmel acknowledged concerns about disinformation online but suggested young people are more media-savvy than often assumed. "In terms of media savvy, I actually think young people are pretty damn good," he said. "I think they are, they just express it in different ways, and they get their information in different ways."

Mr Bluemmel said technical efforts to combat disinformation, such as watermarks and regulation, can only be so effective. Instead, he advocated making voters more informed. "In military parlance, you'd call it target hardening. You can't stop the enemy from launching the missile, but you can make a stronger shield." The Australian Electoral Commission's "Stop and Consider" campaign encourages people to pause and evaluate online information. Monash senior politics lecturer Benjamin Moffitt agreed that young people may actually be less susceptible to online untruths.

How it is being reported

• Commissioner throws cold water on disinformation fearsThe best defence against online disinformation is to teach voters to differentiate truth from lies, a state's electoral commissioner says as a poll looms.The West Australian · 16 Oct, 17:35
• Commissioner throws cold water on disinformation fearsThe best defence against online disinformation is to teach voters to differentiate truth from lies, a state's electoral commissioner says as a poll looms.Perth Now · 16 Oct, 17:35

In this story: Sven Bluemmel · Victoria · Monash University · Australian Electoral Commission

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