Introduction by Croakey: A survey of health sector leaders has revealed overwhelming support for the development and implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to tackle misinformation and disinformation.
Croakey called for such a strategy in our pre-budget submission, warning that “the instability, unreliability and hazardous state of our news and information systems, in Australia and globally, is a public health emergency that is undermining democracy, evidence-informed policy, and the safety, health and wellbeing of communities”.
One of the many health leaders who responded to our survey, Dr John Paterson, CEO of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, told Croakey:
“Misinformation and disinformation are growing threats that have the power to divide communities, influence decision-making, and undermine critical public health and safety efforts.
“A coordinated, national response is essential to combat this growing digital threat and ensure the public has access to accurate, reliable health information during critical times.”
Below, a senior medical leader, Distinguished Laureate Professor Nick Talley, calls for tough legislation to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation, targeting both social media companies and legacy media.
His call comes amid global and local concerns about the capacity and willingness of the media to call out misinformation and disinformation, and to be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
In the United States, the Trump Administration is launching unprecedented attacks on the media, while Jeff Bezos, billionaire owner of The Washington Post, has directed that its opinion section move away from covering a broad range of topics to focus on “support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets”.
In Australia, a leading media scholar Dr Denis Muller has raised questions about whether the media here has “the resources and the will” to tackle disinformation.
Nick Talley writes:
Disinformation and misinformation is now so prevalent and so compelling on social media it is becoming difficult if not impossible for many to distinguish fact from fiction, truth from rumour, reality from fantasy.
The current President of the United States, unlike his predecessors, appears to be a prime example of someone who leads by manipulating disinformation, and it seems to be working. In the meantime, social media companies are curtailing or abolishing fact checking, supporting anti-science and anti-truth.
A free press and truly free speech challenges autocrats and tyrants. I would argue malicious political forces are now exploiting social media in a power play, hoping no one will trust any media going forward, legitimate or otherwise, which is one way to control information and people, and curtail protesting.
Further, the sophistication of those deliberately spreading misinformation is only increasing under the protective banner of free speech – while in truth these forces aim to curb free speech by attacking and shutting down all those trying to disseminate the facts.
X (formerly Twitter) has apparently already taken action against certain influential accounts shutting them down in some cases, seemingly to curtail counter views despite publicly promoting free speech.
In my view the continued spreading of misinformation and disinformation on social media is a direct threat to a free independent press and the checks and balances required for a healthy democracy to survive.
Public health and democracy
This is also a public health issue. Disinformation can be and has been deadly. Those who avoided or are avoiding life-saving vaccinations (e.g. COVID-19, measles etc) because they have been convinced vaccines cause more harm than good is one example.
I note the recent outbreak of measles – which can be deadly in the unvaccinated – in Texas as an example. Those mislead into taking medications that don’t work or even harm, for example ivermectin and COVID, is another example.
If nothing is done, these trends will continue to worsen and those promoting anti-science and anti-truth (and their own political agendas) will succeed in better controlling populations and in the end potentially dismantling democracies.
What is the solution? In my view a national strategy (in Australia and around the world) is urgently needed. A multidisciplinary group of experts should be brought together to work on the strategy and inform all levels of government.
Only tough legislation can make a real difference as social media and even some legacy media companies seem to have voluntarily given up on self-regulation and can’t any longer be trusted to focus on the truth, the facts and the public good.
If all media companies are forced to adhere to regulations that protect against the deliberate spread of misinformation and disinformation (with penalties for failures) including fact checking as a compulsory feature, this will help protect the public from harm and provide more confidence in all the information being shared.
If this happens, everyone wins (except those trying to promote disharmony and lies); if it doesn’t, we all risk losing.
• More detail from Croakey’s survey will be published in coming weeks.
Author details
Distinguished Laureate Professor Nicholas J. Talley AC is a gastroenterologist and public health physician, researcher and educator. He is a Senior Staff Specialist at the John Hunter Hospital and Distinguished Laureate Professor at the University of Newcastle.
He is a Past President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians where he became very active in advocating about the serious health impacts of climate change, and promoting adaptation and mitigation by the health system and the community. Nick continued this work when Editor-in-Chief of The Medical Journal of Australia from 2015 to 2023.
Further commentary
See Croakey’s archive of articles on misinformation and disinformation.
