Election watchdog clears ‘fake newspaper’ of breaking political advertising rules

A media organisation accused of being a “fake newspaper” that favourably covered teal independent MPs and candidates has been cleared by the election watchdog of breaking rules on political advertising.

Coalition frontbencher Jane Hume wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission earlier this month alleging Gazette News had been designed to spruik progressive independent MPs and candidates in their inner-city battles with the Liberal Party.

Opposition frontbencher Jane Hume asked the Australian Electoral Commission to probe whether Gazette News should be classifying its ads as electoral material.

The online local paper – which runs five outlets in Victoria and NSW – launched last year and uses paid online marketing, classed as “issues or politics” advertising by Facebook, to elevate stories that criticise major parties or highlight independents.

Hume asked the AEC to probe whether Gazette News should be classifying its ads as electoral material designed to win votes. Hume’s move was driven partly due to Gazette News’s three funders also being major donors to either Climate 200 or affiliated candidates, having donated more than $1.7 million between them. According to a LinkedIn post by Gazette News founder Anna Saulwick, the organisation’s three major backers are Matt Doran, Mark Rawson and venture capitalist James Taylor.

Climate 200 is the crowdfunding vehicle founded by Simon Holmes à Court, who admitted in a National Press Club speech this month that he had met with Saulwick. However, he said Climate 200 had no link to Gazette News.

On Thursday, the AEC released a statement saying it did not believe the material published by Gazette News required electoral authorisation. “It should also be noted that electoral matter is defined by the Electoral Act to exclude the reporting of news, presenting of current affairs, or any genuine editorial content in news media,” it said.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes à Court at the National Press Club earlier this month.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“The AEC has notified both Gazette News and Senator Hume of this decision. We are taking the additional step of communicating about this matter publicly as we note that this outlet has been the subject of commentary in the media, and [the public] is entitled to be updated on our examination of this issue thus far.”

Hume said on March 12 that Gazette’s operations “appear to be a clear, calculated attempt to manipulate voters”.

Saulwick said of the AEC’s findings: “This was always a nasty, false political stunt, and the AEC’s decision confirms it. Some politicians are willing to try to intimidate independent media into silence, but we won’t be backing down from asking tough questions or serving our local communities.”

Almost all of Gazette News’s political stories mention a Climate 200-backed candidate. Its outlets published stories attacking Labor’s electoral funding reforms, which arguably make it harder for independents to win seats in parliament. A story in a Sydney outlet that takes in electorates with teal independent MPs states, “Sydney’s north could be in the contamination zone of nuclear energy plant failure”.

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