"We have democratised the production and distribution of information without developing equally effective ways to establish its reliability, credibility and accountability," the author wrote.
Bougainville and the Truce Monitoring Group (TMG)
In 1997 the author served in Bougainville as part of a military information support team where rumours and an information vacuum threatened a fragile truce. Information there moved primarily through face-to-face conversations and community networks; what people believed could be as consequential as what was actually happening. To build awareness and confidence in the peace process the team established a printed newspaper. Its effectiveness rested not on the paper alone but on "consistent delivery, relationships developed with communities and the local credibility of the Truce Monitoring Group (TMG)." In Bougainville, the author observed, the trust behind the newspaper was indispensable.
Marshall McLuhan’s global village and the contemporary digital mix
The article draws a line from Marshall McLuhan’s 1960s concept of the global village to today’s digital communications. Where McLuhan predicted electronic media would recreate aspects of oral societies, the modern environment combines immediacy with algorithmic amplification and artificial intelligence. Information now circulates through networks shaped by familiarity, identity and shared beliefs, and repetition can confer apparent credibility before claims are verified. Corrections from outside those networks may struggle to gain acceptance when their sources are distrusted.
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End the scrambleArtificial intelligence, synthetic content and the balance of production versus verification
The author warns that AI compounds the longstanding challenge: convincing text, images and video can now be produced "at extraordinary speed and scale," while verification continues to require evidence, time and judgement. AI can assist verification and improve access to knowledge, but the core problem is a growing imbalance between producing persuasive claims and establishing their reliability. The piece stresses that verification still needs "evidence, time and judgement," even as synthetic content multiplies.
Institutions, transparency and accountability in Australia’s democracy
Australia is presented as a functioning democracy facing information abundance rather than scarcity. For much of the 20th century, newspapers, broadcasters, universities and governments played prominent roles in establishing information and were subject to scrutiny and consequence. Digital communications have weakened those institutions' positions without replacing their functions with equally accountable alternatives. The article recommends that governments "explain decisions, acknowledge uncertainty and demonstrate how public engagement influences outcomes," and that media organisations, universities and experts make their "evidence and reasoning accessible to scrutiny."
What this means for governments, digital platforms, and citizens
- Governments: The article says governments should recognise that "trust must be earned rather than claimed," and should pursue "more transparent public decisions" so that authority flows from demonstrated credibility.
- Digital platforms: The author calls for "greater accountability" including transparency about "recommendation systems, automated amplification and synthetic content," and urges independent oversight alongside protections for freedom of expression.
- Citizens and civic institutions: Strengthening the capacity for informed democratic participation is framed as necessary — through "education, independent journalism, local civic organisations and opportunities for constructive public debate" to help people evaluate competing claims.
Closing measure: strengthen credibility, not hierarchy
The article concludes that Australia should not attempt to rebuild the information hierarchies of the Industrial Age. Instead, it urges translating principles from the OECD report Facts not Fakes — institutional accountability, media independence and societal resilience — into measurable reforms: "independently scrutinised digital platforms" and "stronger opportunities for informed civic participation." Democratising communication is described as a profound achievement; the unfinished work is ensuring democracy can sustain trust, accountability and informed collective judgement. The concrete remaining task, the author argues, is to ensure that authority flows from demonstrated credibility and that institutions and platforms alike show, in practice, why they should be trusted.