When it comes to COVID-19 misinformation, not all nations are the same. Some are peddling a larger variety of myths than others - and each seems to have its own personal favourite.
Can a country move ahead when its citizens hold dueling facts?
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How can a community decide the direction it should go, if its members cannot even agree on where they are? Two political scientists say the growing phenomenon of dueling facts threatens democracy.
Today, experts reveal the tips and tricks spin doctors use to shape the political messages you’re hearing every day - especially during election campaigns.
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Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation; Lucinda Beaman, The Conversation y Dilpreet Kaur, The Conversation
How to spot the work of a political spin doctor this election season.
The Conversation, CC BY77,6 MB(download)
There’s a small army of spin doctors behind the scenes of an election campaign, finessing every utterance so it fits with the overall strategy. Today's episode is all about the art of political spin.
Conflicting fuel standard reports from the Trump and Obama administrations disagree by billions of dollars.
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Their analysis finds that the costs exceed the benefits by over $170 billion – but it includes four major errors in the calculations.
Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni announced a $2b housing scheme he said would create more affordable housing in the state.
AAP/AARON BUNCH
Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni made the claim while announcing a $2 billion housing investment scheme. But is the claim correct?
Leader of the Victorian Greens Samantha Ratnam with the member for Melbourne Ellen Sandell.
AAP/PENNY STEPHENS
Were the Victorian Greens correct about pubic school funding? We asked the experts to check the numbers.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks during a joint media statement with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Bogor Presidential Palace near Jakarta, last August.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said “you can’t reflect society if 90% of your members of parliament were chosen from trade unions and worked in trade unions”. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
At the Victorian Liberal Party election campaign launch, Opposition leader Matthew Guy said Labor had presided over a law and order crisis.
AAP Image/James Ross
Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said under Premier Daniel Andrews, ‘Victoria has won the unenviable title as the state with the country’s highest rate of crime’. Is that right?
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, Opposition leader Matthew Guy and leader of the Victorian Greens Samantha Ratnam.
AAP/Wayne Taylor/James Ross/Julian Smith/Daniel Pockett
With just over four weeks to go until the Victorian state election, we’d like to know which topics matter to you, and what you’d most like to see fact-checked. Here’s how you can get involved.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the Coalition’s spending on aged care services after announcing a Royal Commission into the sector.
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Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the Coalition’s spending on aged care as preparations for a Royal Commission into the sector get underway. We asked the experts to crunch the numbers.
Senator Pauline Hanson says Australia’s immigration policy has led to “culturally separate communities” in Australian cities.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Senator Pauline Hanson raised concerns about immigration and social cohesion, saying ‘more than a million people’ in Australia ‘cannot speak English well or at all’. Let’s look at the numbers.
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann said corporate tax cuts in the US had led to ‘stronger investment, stronger growth, a lower unemployment rate and higher wages’. Let’s take a closer look.
A social media post shared by GetUp! Australia suggested US real wages had dropped significantly following the enactment of Trump’s corporate tax cuts in January. We asked the experts to check it out.
Shadow minister for finance Jim Chalmers, speaking on Q&A.
ABC/Q&A
Was shadow minister for finance Jim Chalmers correct when he said that under the current Coalition government, net debt had doubled? We asked the experts.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek.
AAP/DARREN ENGLAND, AAP/GLENN HUNT
Ahead of Saturday’s crucial byelections, senior Labor Party figures have described a vote for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party as a vote for the Coalition. What do the records show?
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says Australia has ‘run away rates of immigration’.
MICK TSIKAS/AAP
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Australia is “the highest-growing country in the world”, with population growth “double than a lot of other countries”. Is that right?
Liberal MP Sarah Henderson, speaking on Q&A.
ABC/Q&A
In addition to the jobs claim, Liberal MP Sarah Henderson said 65,000 new businesses had started in the last year, compared to the closure of 61,000 businesses in Labor’s last year. Is that right?
Social researcher and author Rebecca Huntley, speaking on Q&A.
ABC/Q&A