Civics and Citizenship
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This activity examines how misinformation, disinformation and fake news spread, and how false information affects democratic decision‑making. Students explore historical and modern examples, analyse how unreliable information undermines accountability and social cohesion, and consider the challenges emerging technologies pose for identifying credible news. Through research and creative tasks, the activity builds students’ skills in evaluating sources and understanding why accurate information is essential for a healthy democracy.
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This activity helps students explore key Australian values—fair go, respect for freedoms and respect for others—and translate them into simple, child‑friendly explanations. Students discuss how these values support cooperation and social cohesion, then create a ‘Value of the Day’ resource for young children using examples that show the value in action.
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This card game introduces students to Australia’s core democratic beliefs, including equality, freedom, respect and the rule of law. Students match concepts, definitions and examples, building their understanding of how democratic values shape civic behaviour and support a fair, stable society. The activity works as a quick starter, revision task or group discussion prompt.
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This activity strengthens students’ understanding of key rule‑of‑law concepts by asking them to identify a term and explain its meaning in their own words. Students draw on examples from real‑world contexts—such as rights, responsibilities, fairness and legal processes—to build clarity, confidence and vocabulary for civics and legal studies.
Activity: Informed Citizens
False information impacts democracy
Approximately 60-90 minutes
Learning Intentions
Compare and contrast past misinformation sources and spread to contemporary sources and spread.
Describe the impact false information can have on decisions made by citizens.
Explain the importance of reliable news sources in the protection of democratic systems.
Background information
A well-informed citizenry needs certain freedoms that allow the people to actively participate in decision making for the community, such as the freedom of speech and expression. Governments need to be open, honest and transparent about their work and share information with the people quickly and clearly so they can understand what is happening and hold the government to account for their decisions. People should also be able to disagree with the decisions of the government publicly and have the right to share their opinions on a range of topics without fear of persecution or prosecution.
However, Associate Professor Etienne Brown from the University of Ottawa in Canada has found that misinformation prevents citizens in democratic countries from making informed judgements and prevents independence in decision making by the people. This then interferes with the effectiveness of democratic systems by causing citizens to make decisions based on incorrect and/ or untrue information.
Dating as far back as Roman times (and probably further!), the spread of false information for political and social gain is not a new concept. However, the spread of false information in any of these categories is presently faster and wider given the prolific use of social media as a news source by the general public.
In his 2025 article, Madgwick cites three main categories of misinformation in the present day:
misinformation: which is the communication of false or misleading information by people who believe the information to be true; • disinformation: which is the spread of intentional misinformation by people who know the claims are false; and • fake news: news reports containing false or misleading information. It often mimics the format of news media reports so that people perceive that it is from a credible source.
What does this mean for a democracy though?
Freedom of speech is critical in a democracy as it provides the people with an opportunity to criticise or support the actions of the government and hold them to account if they are not acting in a way that represents the values and wishes of the people. An important part of freedom is speech is that all people can express their opinion, even if it is unpopular and other people disagree with it. There is a tricky line between balancing the need for freedom of speech and managing false or misleading information.
According to Madgwick, “In democracies, disinformation may not necessarily be the leading cause of autocratisation (moving away from democracy and towards autocratic rule) but it accelerates societal polarisation into separate camps of those who believe in false information (supporting the government) and those who do not (opposing the government).”
This means that the spread of false information of any type presents challenges for democracy because it causes a divide in the community related to values, rights and change. Firstly, a lack of correct information means that citizens are not accurately informed and therefore are unable to hold those in power accountable for their decisions as they cannot accurately know what is happening and the decisions that are being made on their behalf. Secondly, disinformation wears away a culture where citizens positively support and are engaged with laws, and choose for follow them because they respect them and believe it is for the good of society as a whole to do so.
The lack of social harmony (social cohesion), created by these conditions can then limit the ability of parliaments to create effective laws and change where it is needed due to large divides in the needs and wants of the voting public that they represent. An imbalance of power between the arms of government can also be created by the abuse of power that can be generated through social disharmony generated by false information.
Activity 1 – Research and respond
Discuss how and why disinformation and fake news lead to the spread of misinformation.
How might international organisations that rely on input from a large number of nations for decision making, such as the United Nations or World Health Organisation, struggle with the spread of misinformation by member governments? How might that impact on decisions made by these groups?
Research the spread of disinformation and fake news preceding World War II. Outline 3 pieces of disinformation or fake news spread in 3 different countries preceding the war. These could be from news articles, cartoons or propaganda campaigns.
For each piece, describe what may have been the outcome of people reading such information.
Read the BBC article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zwcgn9q o
Identify one historical instance of each disinformation, misinformation and fake news contained in the article
What challenges does emerging technology hold for citizens in being able to tell real news from disinformation or fake news?
Outline what the impact of false information is on the choices that citizens make. Why is accurate information so important for a healthy and functioning democracy?
Activity 2- Create
Australia has had a severe flood event, and the Prime Minister wants to use the opportunity to give the Federal Government more power to control disaster management. The expanded powers will mean that only Federal Government departments and the military will respond to any emergency events and that restrictions placed by these departments will apply Australia wide. Many members of Federal Parliament are opposing the changes as they say that State Governments are best placed to deal with disasters local to them.
Create one image and one news headline that will help to spread disinformation and fake news about the State’s natural disaster responses so the Prime Minister can gain support and make the change.
Explain how this campaign will help the Prime Minister gain control of the parliament and succeed in their campaign.
Extension
See if you can find an example of each type of false information in a contemporary context. What sources can you find that prove the information is incorrect? What makes this source more reliable than others?
Related Resources
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A practical guide to the formal and informal roles citizens play in sustaining Australia’s democratic system. It explains how participation—through voting, jury service, civic engagement, and everyday respectful behaviour—protects democratic stability and prevents authoritarianism. The resource traces the development of voting rights, emphasises the role of juries as community decision‑makers, and connects rights with responsibilities essential to a healthy civic culture.
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This explainer examines the claims made by ‘sovereign citizens’—individuals who argue they are not bound by Australian law—and shows how courts across Australia have consistently rejected these arguments. It outlines common claims about personal sovereignty, consent to laws and the Magna Carta, explains why these arguments conflict with the rule of law, and uses real cases to demonstrate how courts uphold parliamentary authority, legal certainty and equality before the law.
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This fact sheet explains how rights and responsibilities work together, using freedom of speech as a case example. It outlines different types of rights, why rights are not absolute, and how responsibilities ensure everyone can exercise their freedoms safely and equally. The resource shows how Australian law protects freedom of expression while allowing limits—such as anti‑discrimination laws—to prevent harm and uphold the rights of others.
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