This report explores the evolving relationship between Australian news organisations, social media (Facebook) and online audiences. The study analyses more than three million posts from 25 Australian news publishers to gain insights into how news content is distributed, how audiences engage with news topics, and the nature of misinformation and disinformation spread.

This paper outlines the state of the Australian information environment in comparison to other countries, focusing on the perceived threat of misinformation and disinformation on public information quality. It examines the scale, nature, spread and effects of misinformation in democracies, identifying key lessons and recommendations.

Drawing on insights from Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and Kyrgyzstan, this report connects the global decline of democracies to digital disruption and calls for strengthened regulatory frameworks along with its enforcement to prevent monied interests and hidden actors from influencing the outcome of democratic elections.

Online misinformation is an extremely complex and multilayered problem that defies simple, one-size fits all solutions. This policy brief argues that effective mitigation can only be achieved through multi-pronged strategies involving collaboration and cooperation between governments, policy-makers, digital platforms and community-based organisations.

While most Australians believe government lockdown measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic “are about right”, this public opinion research from the United States Studies Centre finds Americans are deeply divided.