Hamish Macdonald Explores Disinformation in "The Matter of Facts"
Journalist Hamish Macdonald is set to release his three-part ABC documentary, "The Matter of Facts," which investigates the impact of screen time, disinformation, and the challenge to established facts in contemporary society. Macdonald previously left social media in 2021 due to online bullying during his time hosting Q+A, a move that was considered unusual at the time. He reports lower screen-time usage and increased reading since then.
Macdonald's Personal Experience and Screen Time
Despite his personal reduction, Macdonald admits to approximately six hours of daily screen time on his phone, largely due to work commitments with ABC Sydney radio and Global Roaming on ABC Radio National. This figure aligns with the average Australian adult's screen time, ranging from two to six hours daily, and up to nine hours for junior high school students.
Disinformation and the Post-Truth Environment
The documentary addresses the widespread issue of screen time and the constant flow of disinformation through digital devices.
Macdonald highlights that this ranges from trivial content like AI cat videos to more serious matters such as bogus health cures on TikTok and propaganda on Facebook. He notes an increasing public skepticism towards traditional news outlets, including the ABC and newspapers, indicating a broader societal challenge to facts.
Drawing on his experience as a foreign correspondent, Macdonald reflects on witnessing the power of doubt in autocratic regimes during events like the Arab Spring, where controlled messages led to societal fracturing.
He suggests a similar, though distinct, process is occurring in democratic nations due to the "absence of agreed facts," which hinders collective problem-solving.
Defining "Fact" and Societal Divisions
Macdonald poses the fundamental question of what constitutes a fact. He describes a journalist's basic role as reporting observed events directly. However, he acknowledges the complexity of reporting on events that are not directly observable, requiring reliance on potentially conflicting secondary sources.
The series was filmed over the past year, with Macdonald traveling to Poland, Paris, Taiwan, and the Philippines, alongside local filming in Australia. The first episode features Jindabyne, NSW, his hometown, where the community is divided over the culling of wild brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park.
This local conflict serves as a microcosm of the larger issue of lacking "agreed facts" and the societal divisions fueled by social media.
Australia's Vulnerability and the Need for Dialogue
Macdonald emphasizes the necessity of recognizing shared humanity and the collective harm caused by societal fracturing via social media. While acknowledging the benefits of a more diverse media landscape, he stresses that communities and nations require the ability to engage in dialogue based on common understanding to address shared problems.
He observes a profound discomfort and nervousness within Australia, suggesting a level of conflict possibly comparable to past eras of significant national strife.
Macdonald notes that issues such as brumby debates, wind farms, migration, or Middle East conflicts, which might have once seemed distant, are now felt more proximately within Australian communities, contributing to potential social disharmony.