Pumping election misinformation
Our monitoring of social media posts about the upcoming Victorian state election has revealed similar misleading narratives as those which were circulated during the federal election earlier this year. To counter mis- and disinformation, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has been running its own register of misinformation to 'sort fact from fiction'. It focuses on narratives that allege election interference or election fraud, such as claims that the VEC will be using Dominion voting software — a narrative imported from the US and popularised in Australia by former Senator Rod Culleton. The VEC has also followed the Australian Electoral Commission’s lead in engaging with voters’ questions and concerns directly on social media.
Misinformation narratives that emerge during election time often target the electoral system. In this instance, attacks have been levied at the VEC, as a way to diminish the body’s credibility and thereby pre-emptively undermine election results. For example, a common narrative we have encountered again and again is the claim that the reason pencils are provided at polling stations is so that ballots can be easily altered after votes are cast. However, the provision of pencils is a logistical preference — they do not dry out or jam, thus removing one aspect of the voting process that polling staff needs to oversee. Voters who wish to use a pen can bring their own. Additionally, the VEC notes, ‘scrutineers are appointed by each candidate and can observe all aspects of ballot handling, such as vote counting’, removing the possibility of any changes being made to ballots.
Another theme in misinformation about the Victorian election is that it is sometimes wrapped in criticism against current Premier Daniel Andrews. Many of the claims against Andrews baselessly allege that he will interfere with the electoral process. One narrative we found circulating on Twitter claimed that Daniel Andrews was a 'member' or the leader of the VEC, which is 'not independent but an arm of the Labor Party' — the VEC is an independent, impartial and neutral statutory body set up under the Electoral Act 2002, not subject to direction from any minister. Another narrative suggested that Andrews has 'links’ with China and/or the Chinese Communist Party and that Andrews being in office meant 'China has control over Victoria until election time’.
Stevie Zhang, CMT Researcher
This featured in our newsletter of 14 October. Read it in full here.
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