‘We’re not messing around’: Online trolls put on notice

Internet trolls who bend the truth and spread “ridiculous” conspiracy theories will be targeted in a nationwide crackdown.

Social media users who bend the truth and spread political misinformation are the subject of a fresh crackdown.

The Australian Electoral Commission launched its disinformation register on Monday aimed at debunking the mistruths spread about the federal election process.

AEC boss Tom Rodgers said he had one message for Australians.

He’s “not messing around”.

“The Australian vote belongs to all Australians and there is freedom of political communication,” he said.

The next federal poll is expected sometime in May. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“However, if you spread incorrect information about the processes we run – deliberately or otherwise – we will correct you.”

The register is a searchable database of mistruths the AEC has identified.

Mr Rogers said they ranged from the “sophisticated to the ridiculous”.

Such examples include claims Australians would need to be vaccinated to vote and AEC workers erased pencil markings during the counting process.

“The message here is simple: The AEC will not tolerate the spread of misinformation or disinformation about our electoral system no matter the source,” Mr Rogers said.

The AEC has significantly ramped up its engagement with users on social media since the 2019 poll.

While it refers misinformation spread on social media platforms directly to Facebook, Twitter, Google, TikTok and Snapchat, the content could still be live for a number of hours before being taken down.

The register will allow the AEC to debunk mistruths online about the election.

So, in addition to who engages with the AEC directly, the organisation now jumps into conversations it’s not invited into to debunk myths from being further spread.

“We‘ve seen more communication questioning electoral processes this electoral cycle than we have ever before,” AEC digital engagement director Evan Ekin Smyth said.

He added an uptick in commentary and applying theories taken from other democratic events - such as the 2020 US presidential election - was a cause of concern.

“If people are talking about the politics, yeah go for your life, that’s a robust democracy,” Mr Ekin Smyth said.

“But if people were talking about the process and getting it wrong, and potentially spitting mistruths about how it‘s run and that might affect the perception of integrity of the election process, we might just jump in on that.

“We do it calmly, lightly and just say, ‘Well, you might just want to have a look at the facts. We run that process and you're wrong.’ And provide links to further information.”