Think you’re too smart to fall for an AI deepfake or an algorithmic disinformation campaign?
Think again. Because, unfortunately the data disagrees.
A staggering 97% of Australians have very limited skills to verify information online. And a new three-part ABC documentary series maps the frontline of this global crisis.
Northern Pictures, in association with Media Ocean, produced The Matter of Facts, which premieres on Tuesday 24 March 2026 on ABC and ABC iview.
Veteran journalist Hamish Macdonald hosts and Tosca Looby directs the series, which explores the real-world consequences of digital deception. Mediaweek caught up with Looby to discuss why the smartest among us often prove the easiest to fool.
Visualising the invisible web
Turning abstract concepts like algorithmic bias into compelling television posed a major creative challenge. And Looby determined early on that the series would avoid typical visual tropes.
Director Tosca Looby (‘Strong female lead’, ‘See what you made me do’, ‘Asking for it’) Image: supplied
“I was determined that it wouldn’t be a whole lot of people looking at computers, and it’s not,” Looby said.
Instead, the production team sought out scenarios to keep the storytelling active. “We tell the story of bedbugs because it’s such a kind of, you know, we all have a visceral reaction to bedbugs and we were really able to play with that visually.”
Now, I don’t know how those scenes played out. Or even how they relate to misinformation. And I didn’t ask. You’ll have to watch to find out.
The psychology of being duped
Many of us tell ourselves a comforting lie. We believe that only the uneducated fall for online manipulation.
The first episode of the series introduces the psychology behind our susceptibility. And it quickly puts to bed the idea that any of us remain immune.
“We all think that, and actually statistically the more you think that, the more likely you are to be duped,” Looby told Mediaweek.
Tech ethicist Tristan Harris features in the series and breaks down why this manipulation bypasses our intellect entirely.
He argues that social media platforms simply exploit our evolutionary structures, meaning susceptibility has nothing to do with having a degree.
MacDonald put himself through a test to demonstrate where he fell on the spectrum. The team measured the rate at which he succumbed to distraction. A kind of gauge of his skills related to multitasking.
And he wiped out.
Looby let it slip that MacDonald got more wrong on an editing task than the university students tested alongside him. It turns out that no one is much chop at multitasking.
To push some of the scientific rigour further, he put his mum to a test to see if she could spot the difference between a real and an AI-generated version of him. Turns out that when identifying AI-generated faces, humans essentially guess.
So, she had a 50/50 chance of identifying her Hamish.
MacDonald’s multitasking score was a little disappointing. Image: supplied
A local microcosm for a global crisis
To anchor some of the more abstract concepts in a live situation, the production travelled to Mount Kosciuszko to examine the debate over wild brumbies. This regional dispute serves as a tangible example of how a single issue violently divides a community.
“People end up in these really entrenched camps, and where they’re getting their information from, is their camp, from their tribe,” Looby explained.
Half the community argues the horses remain largely absent. The other half claims to know the animals by name and markings. The situation leads to a terrifying core question.
“This is the morass you land in, which is kind of the crux for the whole series,” Looby said. “What happens when we don’t believe anything anymore?”
Influencers as the new political agenda setters
To examine how disinformation operates as a tool for securing power, Looby, MacDonald and crew ventured to the Philippines. They attended political rallies that felt vastly different from traditional campaigning. Particularly the sort we’re used to here in Australia.
Influencers dominated the media sections at these events. So much so, that the Electoral Commission has to assume influencers pushing party lines receive payment to do so.
With 90 million social media users in the country relying on these platforms, influencers profoundly impact voting habits.
Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa features in the series and warns that the Philippines often operates as a testing ground for social media tactics that later roll out globally, including in the United States. Looby noted that Ressa’s warning serves as a global wake-up call.
“She talks about this murky water that we swim in and our increasing inability to recognize when we’re in it,” Looby said. “And says, wake up.”
Influencers play an incredible role in elections in the Philippines. Image: supplied
The fact checking dilemma
Ensuring the integrity of a documentary about lies requires some serious heavy lifting. Especially when 97% of us don’t seem to have the faculties to properly fact-check.
Thankfully, Looby found enough to employ those who did.
“I would say we do land in the 3% of people who know how to fact-check,” Looby stated. “And if you could see the script, it’s very heavily footnoted.”
How much has the misinformation on the web grown over the last decade? Looby reflected on her previous work directing Strong Female Lead, the Julia Gillard documentary. Looby noted that even back then in 2013, there was enough to fill the story three times over.
But the sheer volume of digital vitriol has evolved at a terrifying pace since Gillard served as Prime Minister.
“If we were doing that doco now, imagine that amount of information,” Looby remarked. “The memes about Julia Gillard. I mean, they’re still going on.”
Looking forward with optimism
Despite spending a year steeped in the darkest corners of the internet, Looby holds out hope. She notes a growing hunger for digital literacy among the public and points to highly subscribed educational programs at local libraries, where people sign up in droves.
As for her next move after tackling the global collapse of truth? Looby stands ready for a change of pace.
“I’m looking to do a feature documentary next, and I’m looking for projects that have laughter in them,” she said. “I am going for laughs.”
Feature image- Hamish MacDonald in ‘The Matter of Facts’: supplied