When Politicians Tell You What Not to Read: Democracy's Red Flag
The recent call by Peter Dutton telling his supporters to ignore certain media outlets rings eerily familiar bells. Standing at a podium, directing followers to disregard specific news sources while promoting others feels like a carbon copy of political tactics we’ve witnessed overseas - and not in a good way.
Living in the digital age means we have unprecedented access to diverse news sources. The ABC, The Guardian, and other independent outlets play crucial roles in our media landscape, providing necessary counterpoints to the dominant commercial narratives. When a political leader actively discourages engagement with these sources, it should concern every citizen who values democratic discourse.
The thing is, media bias exists across the spectrum - that’s just reality. The solution isn’t to create echo chambers by avoiding certain outlets entirely, but to consume news critically from multiple sources. Telling supporters to shut their eyes and ears to specific media organizations isn’t leadership - it’s manipulation.
Sitting in my home office reading these comments, my mind wanders to the countless conversations at work where colleagues discuss various news sources. Most reasonable people understand that getting information from diverse outlets helps form a more complete picture of current events. We don’t need politicians telling us which news sources to trust or ignore.
What’s particularly concerning is the emerging pattern of attacking public broadcasters. The ABC, despite its occasional missteps, remains one of our most trusted institutions. It serves remote communities, provides emergency broadcasts during disasters, and delivers programming commercial networks won’t touch. Attempting to undermine public trust in such institutions weakens our democracy.
The political strategy seems clear - create an “us versus them” narrative where certain media outlets are branded as enemies of the people. We’ve seen this playbook before, and it rarely ends well for democratic societies.
These developments remind me of conversations with my teenage daughter about media literacy. Teaching the next generation to think critically about news sources, rather than blindly accepting or rejecting them based on political alignment, feels more important than ever.
The timing of these comments, as we approach another election cycle, is no coincidence. But most Australians are smarter than this. We understand that healthy democracies thrive on diverse perspectives and robust debate, not on limiting ourselves to news sources that merely confirm our existing beliefs.
Rather than telling people what not to read, perhaps our political leaders could focus on articulating clear policies and vision for the future. That would be a refreshing change from the current trend of media delegitimization and division.