The nswnewsroom account presents itself as an independent publication despite being officially authorised by the NSW Labor state secretary. Under current state regulations, political groups can avoid placing authorisations directly on unpaid posts by merely including disclosures in the account bio. This tactic is part of an industry-wide trend, as seen in Victoria where Labor expended more than $67,000 on a dedicated campaign page cautioning against a Liberal and One Nation alliance.
Key points
Political entities across Australia frequently deploy unbranded media accounts to bypass…: Political entities across Australia frequently deploy unbranded media accounts to bypass traditional paid advertising disclosure rules.
Social media users face an increased risk of being misled by partisan content styled as o…: Social media users face an increased risk of being misled by partisan content styled as objective journalism.
Major and minor political players continue to use these digital loopholes ahead of the up…: Major and minor political players continue to use these digital loopholes ahead of the upcoming 2025 federal election.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
“Breaking,” a reel from the Instagram account nswnewsroom reads. “Another Liberal MP quits, almost a third now gone.”
The post looks like it could have been made by a media outlet. It cites the source as the Daily Telegraph and Jordan Lane, a New South Wales MP, who is the sixth sitting Liberal member to announce they won’t re-contest their seat at the March 2027 election.
But the account’s bio tells a different story: it was authorised by the NSW Labor state secretary.
The account, which first posted two weeks ago and says “keep up to date with with [sic] news from NSW govt” in its bio, is part of an increasingly common tactic where Australian political parties set up accounts that appear at first glance to be unaffiliated news sources. The accounts feature different names and imagery without prominent party branding, to promote specific messages or highlight their own side.
Andrew Hughes, an expert in political marketing at the Australian National University, said these types of accounts take advantage of a “huge loophole in our political communication laws in…
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