The fastest way to grow a following as an Australian politician is to push an alternative take on science, over and over again.
Use images, share other people’s stories without fact-checking or examining their claims.
And just keep posting.
Whether or not you personally believe your alternative take on the science you’re discussing, is irrelevant. As are the scientists and medical professionals who’ll counter your arguments.
And whatever you do, don’t discuss the policy issues you’ve been elected to represent Australians on. Posting stories and information on policy areas like childcare, women’s economic security, renewable energy and family violence, just won’t be anywhere near as effective as your alternative take on science.
Because if you really want to engage the masses on social media, you’re going to need to start pushing some fringe theories.
After all, the swiftest way to leverage Facebook’s algorithm for more likes and engagement is to stoke outrage and conspiracy. Add to that some well-timed complaints about free speech, and you’ve got yourself a winning formula.
Liberal MP Gerard Rennick has recently cracked the code, increasing his Facebook following by 70,000 in less than a month, according to The Guardian. He’s done so by sharing stories of people claiming to have experienced adverse vaccine side effects, stories that even he says he can’t be sure are “100% accurate”.
He’s been outperforming every Australian Senator over the past month in terms of engagement on socail media, since posting a video of a Melbourne anti-vaccination protest that went viral in early November.
But Rennick is merely the latest in a list of Coalition men to pursue this strategy; finding their long-oppressed voices through the cesspool of misinformation and pseudoscience.
In Rennick’s case, it’s proved to be a much faster way to gain followers and grow his personal brand online that his other attempts. Seemingly his 2020 push to promote the idea of keeping a parent at home, over sending kids to childcare, didn’t prove anywhere near as popular for bringing in the followers. Not even when he attempted to channel Dorothy’s “there’s no place like home” mantra to make his argument.
The Senator has also previously argued that the Bureau of Meteorology is engaged in a conspiracy to rewrite climate records to fit in with a “global warming agenda”.
But rejecting climate science and telling women to stay at home, just isn’t as popular as it once was.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is doing something — but then not a huge amount — to rein these rogue senators in. He told media that “of course” he’d taken Rennick to task over his Facebook spree, but it’s clear he won’t go much further. M
Morrison won’t tell Rennick to actually stop, rather he’ll “suggest” the MP listens to the medical experts on the issue.
Instead, Morrison tried another idea. He suggested the media and others expressing concern look away. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to promote what they’re saying by constantly drawing it to people’s attention,” he said.
He doesn’t want to press too hard.
There’s an election coming up. He knows there are votes in the base these rogue MPs appeal to and there may just be some advantage in keeping them close.
Somewhat encouragingly, Morrison has taken a harder line on George Christensen who will retire at the next election.
In recent days, Christensen has called for rallies at Australian embassies. He laughed during a conversation with American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, when the latter compared Australia’s COVID-19 quarantine facilities to Auschwitz. Morrison responded by saying he denounced the comments in the “strongest terms”. The Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has also said that any comparisons with the Holocaust must be rebuked and that he’s asked Christensen to be “more aware of any platform he speaks on and to ask himself of the history of those platforms and if participation on it is wise saying.”
So Christensen gets a rebuke. He’s out anyway. He’s found an audience and will take it with him.
Craig Kelly too, used his position to then leverage social media and find an audience. Now giving him the option (and the funding) to run his own campaign as leader of the United Australia Party.
They got their likes. Will they get the votes? Or in Christensen’s case, his next big thing outside of politics?