The ABC's chair Kim Williams has warned Australia is being "flooded" with misinformation and disinformation, just days after the federal government abandoned a bill to force social media giants to tackle harmful content on their platforms.
In an address to the National Press Club, Mr Williams said misinformation must be countered, and doing so would require extra investment in journalism — as well as a commitment by news organisations to objectivity.
"That's why since taking the job of chair of the ABC I have been insisting that all our journalists adhere, always, to the highest standards of objectivity and professional ethics," Mr Williams said.
"We do not serve causes at the ABC, we serve the truth. This is non-negotiable."
Williams says operating revenue at ABC has fallen $150 million in real terms
The ABC chair said operating revenue for the national broadcaster had fallen by 13.7 per cent in real terms over the past decade, the equivalent of annual reduction of $150 million.
After winning government in 2022, the Albanese government extended the ABC's funding terms from three years to five years, a long-running request of the broadcaster.
The renewed funding deal also included an additional $103.8 million over five years to maintain programs that were expiring, including the ABC's enhanced news gathering scheme which supports regional journalist positions; and ABC Audio Description, which provides accessible screen content for blind and vision-impaired audiences.
Earlier this year, a $70 million hole was opened in the ABC's annual budget after social media giant Meta decided it would no longer honour the Morrison-era News Media Bargaining Code, and refused to pay for the news media content on its site.
"As our nation has become richer, our nation's broadcaster has become much poorer," Mr Williams said.
He also made note that commercial newsrooms were suffering in the internet age, and "the knife is now scraping the bone".
He said a generation of journalists had been swept away, and now industry revival must begin at the ABC.
Mr Williams said additional funding could be used to expand fact-checking capability, more and better children's programs, and to open new newsrooms in suburban and peri-urban locations, among other things.
"As the waters of misinformation and disinformation rise, the continuing existence of the ABC as a trusted source of the truth will help save our democracy from the populist damage going on elsewhere," the chair said.
The federal government had attempted to legislate requirements for social media companies to combat misinformation and disinformation on their platforms, and give powers to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce the laws.
But the bill was dumped after widespread opposition and criticism from legal experts it could lead to unintentional suppression of true content and free speech.
Children 'particularly vulnerable' says chair, as parliament debates social media ban
Mr Williams also endorsed a bipartisan attempt by the federal government and opposition to ban children and teenagers under 16 from social media.
The parliament is currently debating the legislation, which is expected to pass on Wednesday night.
"It's good to get the young especially into lifeboats — they are particularly vulnerable to the flood," he said.
"I don't envy the job of the government in giving shape and strength to the action that is proposed on social media. But I think it's strongly supported in the community, and I think that the government is showing considerable fortitude in the approach that's being taken.
"I think that they are to be commended for responding to something on which there is genuine and legitimate community anxiety."
But he said that one day those young people would also "have to swim for themselves" and so the media must be better at exposing misinformation, correcting disinformation, and arming Australians to discern both.
The ABC chair attacked a culture of ignorance and lack of social commitment, saying the best counter to that culture was to generate more news, information, discussion and other programming that celebrates and interrogates the nation.
"Nature, as we know, abhors a vacuum. We need to fill the void before others do," Mr Williams said.