PIJI CEO Anna Draffin and Head of Policy & Strategy Simon Harari appeared before the Senate’s environment and communications legislation committee on 17 October, during its inquiry into the communications legislation amendment (combatting misinformation and disinformation bill).

Below you can read Anna Draffin’s opening statement:

OPENING STATEMENT

The way in which our society consumes news is undergoing profound transformation. From the early days of the web, through the rise of social media and smart phones, now turbocharged by Gen AI, each wave of digital disruption reshapes how we access information.

The information ecosystem is increasingly cluttered. Trustworthy sources battle for attention alongside a deluge of synthetic content and deliberate falsehoods. It is becoming more difficult to identify and agree on ‘the truth’.

We will not always agree on issues of local or national importance – and nor should we, because lively debate in our streets, town halls, and parliaments is a hallmark of a healthy democracy. We can freely disagree about what should happen. But a stable democracy needs credible, trusted sources of information that help us understand what has happened.

A baseline of agreed facts is essential to our democratic strength, which for generations, has

been provided at arms’ length, by news media. Countless studies show that robust, independent news leads to more civic engagement, more accountable government and safer, more resilient communities.

PIJI welcomes this Bill for its focus on greater, and more universal, transparency and accountability from digital platforms as central players in today’s information ecosystem. We

also welcome the recent, broader focus on other counter measures to mis and disinformation such as fact checking, and importantly, improved media literacy.

As critical as these tools are, a growing body of research shows that people are more likely to believe false information online when it aligns with their existing beliefs about society. If that is the case, then the best defence to mis and disinformation is a strong counternarrative.

Strong, independent and diverse public interest journalism is uniquely designed to serve that public purpose.

It records, reports and investigates issues of public significance, meeting the critical information needs of the communities it serves. Importantly, news has specific characteristics and professional standards that distinguish it from other types of information such as accuracy, impartiality, fairness and the right of reply. And through sustained dedication to reporting without fear or favour, public interest journalism can help build public trust and social cohesion.

In essence, public interest journalism holds and reflects the powerful counter-narrative of a strong, functional democracy against allegations of dysfunctional society from influential, unaccountable interests.

However, the Digital News Report 2024 from the University of Canberra shows that the ways in which we access news has changed. One in four Australians now use social media as their main source of news. One in ten only access news via social media.

So while this Bill represents an important tool in the fight against mis and disinformation, it is by nature a regulatory tool, and provides a partial solution to a much larger scale problem. To prevent misinformation and disinformation from taking root in the first place, we must strengthen our community’s resilience through other means, including deliberate investment in public interest journalism.

The news industry also needs to publicly demonstrate its commitment to its unique professional standards to help the public clearly differentiate news journalism from low-quality and false content. This in turn can help increase the public’s trust in news, and drive the use of news as a public good in defence against mis and disinformation.

This Bill cannot solve for mis and disinformation alone. It is part of different ongoing efforts from regulators, digital platforms and news media. The success of those efforts will be measured in years, not months, but the collective results will strengthen the foundation of

Australia’s democracy for generations to come.

PIJI has also made a written submission to the commission. You can read PIJI’s full written submission here: