🟠 News Club - Warning: Dark themes inside...

Why we’re doing it for the kids…

The Squiz is optimistic by nature. And as you know, we’ve also got a way of presenting the news and information we put to you. Balanced, factual, and engaging. One bit of feedback we get regularly is parents like that they can put the podcast on with young kids around and they know we won’t be graphic or sensational. 

So, in pulling this newsletter together, I had to think a bit about the topic because it’s heavy and worrying. But it’s also hard not to sound a bit like ‘the end is nigh…’ when talking about it. 

But first, some context… As you would have seen or heard, we’re pushing hard to get the federal government to fund our Newshounds program - our media literacy program for 7-12yos that’s already in 4,300 primary school classrooms around Australia. There are about 25,000 Year 3-6 classrooms in Oz, and we want to get to all of them ASAP. 

When we started Squiz Kids, Bryce Corbett was motivated to front it because, as a journalist and a parent, he wanted his kids to be critical consumers of news and information online. He worried about their ability to become informed citizens, and he recognised the threats to our democracy if that was applied across our younger generations. 

Those are some lofty ideals - but there is also a darker side that this week’s Club Picks point to:

1. I talked about this on the Weekly Wrap podcast with Kate Watson - the latest Edelman Trust Barometer is alarming. The majority of Australians (60-70%) believe they are being lied to by authorities, business leaders, government leaders, and journalists. And 40% say hostile activism is a legitimate tool to drive change. That doesn’t bode well for a well-informed debate/cohesive society, and the experts say it's driven by mis and disinformation online. 

2. Last month in his annual threat assessment, ASIO's Director-General Mike Burgess said radicalised minors now pose as much of a "credible terrorist threat" as adults - and those minors are mostly Australian-born boys. He says what’s driving them is what they’re finding online, and going forward, “AI-fuelled algorithms will make it easier for extremist material to find vulnerable adolescent minds that are searching for meaning and connection.”

3. The radicalisation of young boys to pursue an ideological or religious cause is one thing. The ‘manosphere’ - aka the websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity and misogyny - is another… Netflix’s new drama series Adolescence has landed square in the middle of the discussion of how online spaces are supercharging violence and abuse. I watched it on the weekend - it’s a remarkable show. 

It was then Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil who said in 2023 that “just about every problem” in society is being caused or made worse by social media. So far, the government’s response has been to make an effort to ban under 16yos from holding social media accounts. 

As Bryce and others have said - it’s a bit like water safety. Putting a fence around the pool is a good thing to do - but you’ve still got to teach kids to swim. 

Newshounds is the swimming lessons. 

We’re proud of the work Bryce and the team are doing - and we’re optimistic about the potential of its impact. We hope our campaign is worthy of your support.

I hope you still get a cuppa in there too…