‘Source info from credible sources’

THE best tool to combat misinformation and disinformation during a General Election is to ensure that the citizens have access to credible information from good sources.

Australian Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Dr Tobias Feakin said this could include information from government, trusted media organisations and even from the people asking questions of the information they view on the internet.

“In terms of potential election interference, I think it is something that troubles governments worldwide,” he said.

“The canary in the coal mine was 2016 in the US election and everything that occurred during that election and the subsequent US attribution of that election interference to Russia in 2017 and I think since then governments have been trying to work through ‘how do you better respond?’

“There is no silver bullet response but I think at its heart is education of the public to be better consumers of information, of being able to just question what it is they are reading.”

Dr Feakin said mainstream media was also a good source of credible information because journalists go through various processes to vet the source of the information and go through a rigorous process of writing articles.

“Therefore there is a trust that members of the public have in what a journalist produces, so it’s reminding the public to get their election information from trusted sources.”

However, he said people could also ‘vet’ online information themselves.

“If you’re an internet user, it’s about asking yourself the question, ‘if this was someone telling me in the street and it sounded this fantastical – would I actually laugh at what they were saying – it’s nonsense right?’

“The same rule applies on the online space.

“Just because it’s there on a screen in front of you wouldn’t necessarily mean it’s true on a social media outlet.”