HOW AN INNOCENT FACEBOOK POST MORPHED INTO A RUMOUR THAT HELPED FUEL LABOR'S CASHLESS...
0How an innocent Facebook post morphed into a rumour that helped fuel Labor's Cashless Debit Card scare campaign
When a New South Wales woman posted on Facebook last year about a conversation with a staffer at her local MP's office. she had no idea what would happen next. An ABC investigation has traced the origins of a scare campaign suggesting the Coalition would force pensioners onto the Cashless Debit Card if re elected Her words would be twisted. shared and amplified. eventually winding up as fodder for a Labor Party scare campaign about a secret government plan to force pensioners onto a cashless debit card. The author of that post can now be revealed as Mid North Coast carer Corrinne Boon and this the story of how her post became part of a textbook case of political misinformation. It began in May last year when Ms Boon telephoned the office of her local member. the Nationals MP David Gillespie. about an unrelated electorate issue. and asked in passing about the Cashless Debit Card. Introduced by the government on a trial basis in 2016. the Cashless Debit Card is a form of income management which restricts the way money is spent by welfare recipients. It has been rolled out across a small number of communities in remote and regional parts of the country. The card quarantines between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of a person's welfare payment. depending on the jurisdiction. and bans the purchase of certain items such as alcohol and gambling products. Election news: The purpose of the program is to ensure welfare payments are spent in responsible ways and to reduce social harm. But critics say it's an example of government overreach. Ms Boon said the staffer who answered the call told her that the Cashless Debit Card was a good idea for pensioners. 'I said. 'But why would you want aged pensioners or carers on it?' And he said. 'Well. with the aged pensioners … it's much safer for them than carrying cash around'.' she told the ABC. 'And I said. 'What?' I said that it is so restrictive. It is a terrible card.' That afternoon she posted about the 'heated discussion' in an anti cashless debit card Facebook group with over 3.000 members. A spokesperson for Dr David Gillespie's office told the ABC that 'the comments were incorrect and did not reflect the views of Dr Gillespie or the federal government'. While Ms Boon made no suggestion that the Coalition government planned to place pensioners on the card. her post was quickly shared by advocacy groups opposed to the card and the restrictions they said it placed on personal freedoms. Advocacy group The Say NO Seven reposted Ms Boon's original post on Twitter with her name and profile picture redacted. Their new caption read 'staffer from Gillespie's office does a whoops and reveals #LNP plans and propaganda strat for putting Age Pensioners onto the #INDUE #cashlessdebitcard …' Ms Boon said while she was against cashless debit cards and was concerned their use could be expanded. she was never told that it was a Coalition policy nor plan by the staffer. A few days later. Labor MP Julian Hill shared The Say NO Seven's post containing Ms Boon's redacted post and put his own spin on it. claiming it exposed 'Scott Morrison's secret plan to force Australia's pensioners onto the cashless welfare card'. RMIT ABC Fact Check earlier found the anonymous post was the impetus for Labor's Cashless Debit Card scare campaign after it was shared by the Labor MP and gained traction last year. Julia Bergin — senior research reporter from the non profit online mis and dis information research organisation. First Draft — said that. as an official source. MPs gave information a strong sense of legitimacy. 'Their standing and eminence as government figures gives them both a platform — which means a larger audience — and an automatic stamp of authority.' she said. 'I would anticipate that the narrative pre dates Corrinne's post and her anecdote simply acted as an accelerator. '[It was]. ultimately. 'evidence' that gave it legs. But the post was critical for Labor to...
#news