How AI rots our information

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his Columbia University colleague Maxim Ventura-Bolet argue that AI is destroying our ‘information environment’ through regurgitated slop and deliberate misinformation.

Mental health and misinformation

One in five Australians will experience depression or anxiety in their lifetime – and a new report finds this increases their susceptibility to mis- and disinformation.

Fake whales and killer wind farms

A Senate enquiry has heard how lobby groups are using artificial intelligence to plaster social media with misinformation about renewable energy and invent ‘facts’ to support the fossil fuel industry.

You can’t handle the truth

Why people do believe misinformation about everything from a flat Earth to Russian propaganda even when they’re told the facts?

Capturing the narrative

A new UNSW research project shows how the internet and social media have become a closed loop of AI slop in which bots invent lies to trigger emotional responses from humans, manufacturing a false reality in which they can shift votes as well as products.

The misinformation malaise

Many Australians are aware of the influence of misinformation and disinformation on elections, but there are more insidious ways it harms our democratic society.

Propaganda in the Pacific

Disinformation from hostile foreign states aims to influence opinions foreign policy in the Pacific, and there are signs it is working.

Dark ads and democracy

Political inaction and big-tech’s reluctance to protect users from ad-powered misinformation campaigns leave Australians vulnerable to a murky world of digital misinformation going into the Federal election.

Don’t be fooled

The upcoming federal election will see an influx of deepfakes, doctored images, and tailored narratives that blur the line between fact and fiction.

The year of fake news

Mis- and disinformation have once again been named the top global risk of the immediate term in the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 2025.

Freedom of speech v freedom from deception

Disinformation threatens Australian democratic processes and the failure of the proposed Disinformation and Misinformation bill highlights the urgent need for balanced regulation ahead of the 2025 elections.

Meta-reality

Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Facebook will replace fact checkers with “community notes” has as much to do with Meta’s embrace of AI as the re-election of Donald Trump.