As the federal election campaign ramps up, experts are warning that political spin — from slick slogans to strategic backflips — could be doing more harm than good.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Briefing, we sat down with Professor of Communications and journalist Caroline Fisher, about the tactics shaping the 2025 election.
“Once upon a time it was just about spinning words, putting your best foot forward, about gilding the lily,” Fisher said.
Does political spin lead to mistrust?
“And it’s come to mean everything now from overt manipulative tactics… through to outright lying,” she said.
While some forms of spin are obvious, like campaign slogans, press conferences, and policy launches, Fisher said more subtle, covert tactics are also being used behind the scenes.
These include backflipping on unpopular policies, ‘wedging’ opponents on sensitive issues, and pivoting away from tough questions.
“There’s what we call covert tactics… they tend to involve manipulation, obfuscation, sometimes outright lying, and they’re the types of techniques that people sort of worry about,” she added.
Fisher pointed to recent examples including the Coalition’s shift away from its work-from-home policy, and Labor’s use of tax cuts to force a wedge during the budget.
However, she says the impact of spin in this campaign has been relatively mild compared to the United States.
“We’ve seen the ‘Make Australia Great Again’ slogan, more use of influencers and podcasts… But we’re not America, and there is a bit of fear around Trump,” Fisher explained.
With both major parties accusing each other of misinformation, Fisher warns that political spin could be deepening voter mistrust.
“At the end of the day, the public thinks neither of them are particularly trustworthy. It’s counterproductive.”
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