Study exposes disinformation risk among Australia’s online news sites

Just over a quarter of Australian news websites may deliberately publish inaccurate content to suit agendas, while most others should do more to demonstrate they are trustworthy, according to new research.

The research, conducted by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), assessed the content and editorial integrity of 34 local news outlets as it examined the risks of disinformation in Australia.

While only one website posed a “maximum disinformation risk”, two others demonstrated a “high” chance of carrying fake or misleading content, with six regarded as posing a “medium risk”.