After a review of collaborative Instagram posts made by media juggernaut Abbie Chatfield, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have determined that the content did not need an authorisation statement.
As it stands, whenever there is a message or statement about an electoral or political matter that is not shared by traditional news media, it must be authorised by the AEC. That’s why, after a political ad, you’ll see the black screen with a message declaring who created or funded the messaging.
The review, which was announced this morning via a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, was made in an effort to discern whether the videos shared across the podcaster’s social media accounts and the politicians’ count as news opinion or a political endorsement.
In a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV, an AEC spokesperson has revealed that the post did not breach the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. According to the Act, for online content to require an authorisation, it must contain electoral matter that is “communicated for the dominant purpose of influencing how someone votes” or “be paid advertising and/or be communicated by or on behalf of a political entity”.
“While the podcasts in question could be viewed as being made for the purpose of influencing how someone casts their vote, there is no evidence that there was a monetary benefit for the podcaster as a result of either Mr Albanese or Mr Bandt being invited onto the show,” the AEC spokesperson said.
“It appears that the invitations to Mr Albanese or Mr Bandt to participate were voluntary. In addition, questions put to both interviewees were sourced from the podcast’s audience. There is no evidence that either Mr Albanese or Mr Bandt had creative control in relation to the questions that were asked.”
“The AEC is making the outcome of this review public out of fairness to Ms Chatfield given the media coverage of the issue to date,” the spokesperson added.
The content with Albanese shared across Chatfield’s socials which was created from an interview with the Labor leader on her podcast, It’s A Lot. The whole interview covered many of Labor’s policies. However, the videos shared across social media included discussions about Labor’s medicare policies and criticism of the Coalition’s health policies.
Meanwhile, there are also collaborative posts with Bandt from a DJ event called “Vote”.
It’s worth noting that Chatfield has been upfront about inviting opposition leader Peter Dutton on her podcast, yet he turned down the opportunity.
Earlier today, acting electoral commissioner Jeff Pope told the press that the posts were under review by the AEC.
“We’d have to look and see whether content was being produced of the own volition of the person who’s the influencer or [if there] is another buying, potentially using that as advertising and promotional content,” he said, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, Chatfield clarified that she was not paid to conduct the interviews or post the videos on social media.
“I definitely was not paid by either party to create content,” she said.
“We were asking Bandt and Albanese for months to come on the podcast, and they had zero say in the content of the podcast or the posts I made.”
The AEC also recognised the growing role that influencers and new media have in educating the public about politics and Australia’s electoral system.
They state that any content creator, influencer or podcast who has been paid to communicate on an electoral matter must authorise the communication. An authorisation is also needed if the content is created by or on behalf of a political entity or a third party associated with a political entity.
“The AEC’s general guidance remains — if in doubt, authorise,” the spokesperson said.
The post AEC Probe Reveals Abbie Chatfield’s Political Content Did Not Breach Any Laws appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
