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There’s an Australian politics Twitter account that ruins my day at the least as soon as every week. Created by pal of the publication Casey Briggs, @auspol_posts is an automatic account that tracks which Australian politicians are doing nicely on Fb.
Every day, the account tweets a listing of the ten Fb posts from federal MPs which have acquired probably the most engagements on Fb. Watching these gives a simple overview of which MPs (and their places of work) have discovered easy methods to get their message throughout on the platform.
The outcomes are fairly clear: right-wing Australian politicians are dominating Fb. I went again and checked out which politician had the highest Fb publish every day since June 30 — when Briggs up to date the bot for the forty seventh Parliament — to get a way of how nicely they’re doing. I discovered that right-wing politicians (outlined as Coalition or One Nation MPs) topped the checklist for 35 days, in contrast with 10 days for left-wing politicians (i.e. Labor or Greens).
In reality, it appears the extra right-wing and populist you’re, the higher you do in these every day rankings. The most typical names have been Queensland LNP Senator Gerard Rennick, propelled by his relentless anti-vaccine posting; Nation Liberal Senator Jacinta Worth; former prime minister Scott Morrison; and One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Surroundings Minister Tanya Plibersek have been the massive names on the left.
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The rationale that this semi-regularly ruins my day is as a result of it exhibits how the taking part in discipline is warped to reward a sure type of politics. Past dispelling the ridiculous persecution advanced of a whole lot of right-wing politicians — who declare tech platforms are biased in opposition to conservatives and regularly “shadow ban” them — the clear imbalance of maybe a very powerful data dissemination mechanism identified to humankind ought to make individuals uneasy.
Regardless of most likely having its finest days behind it, Fb stays the preferred social media platform, with 76.8% of Australians between 18-64 having an account and spending a median of 17.6 hours signed in every month, in accordance with We Are Social’s 2022 State of Social report. Different platforms like Instagram and TikTok have gotten extra vital to politicians, however Fb remained the key digital battleground for the 2022 federal election.
The appropriate-wing benefit on Fb is a well-documented phenomenon within the US. In 2020, an nameless Fb government chatting with Politico acknowledged it was true however claimed it was as a result of “right-wing populism is at all times extra participating”.
Certain, possibly. However that handy rationalization paints Fb as an immutable drive — nearly like gravity — that Simply So Occurs to reward battle and concern in politics. There are different platforms that don’t incentivise the identical sorts of behaviour. Reddit, for one, exhibits there’s one other manner.
We must always at all times query how these platforms are encouraging us to behave and whether or not that’s how we would like the world to be.
Hyperlinks
Pubs are shopping for facial recognition know-how to trace and file you
I went to an expo for playing firms in Australasia and I came upon that pubs, golf equipment and different venues are already utilizing facial recognition tech. (Crikey)
Meta lacking in motion at essential Treasury talks
Add this to the proof that Meta is just not loopy about nonetheless paying for journalism in Australia. (SMH)
Punters in search of assist for playing habit directed to betting web sites
That is ghoulish. (SMH)
NSW Police dumps Bezos-backed Mark43 from core techniques overhaul
Good scoop: an organization backed by Malcolm Turnbull that had been awarded a $177 million contract to offer cloud-computing providers to NSW Police was dumped earlier than it went dwell. (IT Information)
Has Ron Watkins, who many consider is behind QAnon, moved to Australia?
Excellent news! One of many world’s most influential conspiracy theorists is in Australia — and there’s some proof suggesting he is likely to be making an attempt to remain right here. (Crikey)
Content material Nook
The recent meme in American left politics for the time being is “Darkish Brandon”. Inverting a fascist-y trope from the MAGA proper, “Darkish Brandon” is a meme that portrays US President Joe Biden as a darkish, edgy and ruthless political chief who’s prepared to do no matter it takes to hold out his coverage agenda (versus the slightly feeble, unpopular actuality of his presidency).
What began off as a subversion of a right-wing meme that was used paradoxically has subsequently been adopted by the US institution left, together with White Home aides. This has led individuals to ask: is that this meme ironic? Or is it now an earnest, delusional portrayal of Biden? Is it finally reinforcing extremist iconography? The reply to all of those is sure, relying on who you ask.
The query I’m extra enthusiastic about is: why haven’t we seen a “Darkish Albo” meme take off in Australia? Technically, it exists. There’s a @dark_albo Instagram account that just about grew to become inactive straight after the election (hmm, humorous that).
What I truly imply is why isn’t there a meme format that casts Anthony Albanese as a robust political chief? I think there are a whole lot of causes, however for no matter motive Australia’s politics hasn’t embraced fandom to the identical extent as our American equivalents. US author Max Learn defined the “Darkish Brandon” meme as “developed and shared by individuals who spend a number of hours a day screens, growing robust emotional attachments, and fascinated about the sophisticated narrative arc of their most popular fictional metaverse”. In impact, meme-ing Biden faucets into the identical cultural tales cultivated by Marvel and DC.
Politics via the fandom lens isn’t fairly as prevalent in Australia. It definitely exists (simply take a look via a number of the #Albo posts on Twitter) however to not the identical stage. Frankly, that is most likely factor! It’s higher to deal with politicians as flawed vessels for his or her constituents and never characters who now we have no selection however to unironically stan. If which means we miss out on some crispy “Darkish Albo” memes, I suppose that’s a value I’m prepared to pay.
