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It’s a thought we all like to entertain, isn’t it? The idea that we’re too sharp, too discerning, too savvy to fall for the digital smoke and mirrors that constantly swirl around us online. Deepfakes? Algorithmic rabbit holes? Propaganda crafted by unseen hands? “Not me,” we tell ourselves, often with a smug internal nod. We envision the ‘others,’ perhaps less educated or digitally native, as the unfortunate victims. But here’s the harsh reality, and it’s a bit of a slap in the face: the data says otherwise. A truly eye-watering 97% of Australians, a figure that’s both startling and humbling, possess only very basic skills when it comes to checking the authenticity of information they encounter online. Let that sink in for a moment. Almost everyone, statistically speaking, is ill-equipped to navigate the treacherous waters of the internet. This isn’t just a minor glitch; it’s a full-blown crisis, global in its reach, and the ABC is bravely diving headfirst into it with a new three-part documentary series titled “The Matter of Facts.” Produced by Northern Pictures in collaboration with Media Ocean, this series, which debuts on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, on ABC and ABC iview, promises to be a vital exploration. Guiding us through this complex landscape is the familiar face of veteran journalist Hamish Macdonald, while the insightful direction comes from Tosca Looby. Mediaweek recently sat down with Looby, and in her reflections, a profoundly unsettling truth emerged: those of us who consider ourselves the cleverest often turn out to be the easiest to fool. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but one that is absolutely essential for us to confront if we ever hope to build a more resilient and informed society.
One of the biggest hurdles in bringing a subject as abstract as digital deception to the screen is avoiding the tired clichés. How do you make algorithmic bias, a concept that often feels invisible and academic, visually compelling television? Director Tosca Looby, known for her powerful work on “Strong female lead” and “See what you made me do,” understood this challenge implicitly from the outset. Her determination was clear: “I was determined that it wouldn’t be a whole lot of people looking at computers, and it’s not,” she emphatically stated. Instead, the creative team sought out innovative and active storytelling methods to breathe life into these often-dry topics. Imagine trying to explain how misinformation spreads like a virus, affecting our perception and behavior. Instead of a talking head explaining epidemiological models, Looby’s team found an unexpected, yet utterly relatable, metaphor: bedbugs. “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.” While the exact connection between bedbugs and online misinformation might seem baffling at first glance – and honestly, it sparks a burning curiosity that makes you need to watch – it perfectly encapsulates Looby’s approach: take something universally understood and viscerally felt, and use it to illustrate a complex, unseen threat. This creative choice is not just about entertainment; it’s about making the abstract tangible, making the invisible web of lies and algorithms something we can feel in our gut, much like the creepy-crawly sensation of a bedbug infestation. It’s a bold artistic move, promising a documentary that doesn’t just inform but actively engages and, perhaps, even unsettles us in the most productive way.
The comforting lie we all whisper to ourselves – that only the unsophisticated, the uneducated, or the easily swayed fall victim to online manipulation – is perhaps the most insidious aspect of this whole crisis. The first episode of “The Matter of Facts” doesn’t just debunk this comforting fantasy; it utterly shatters it, introducing us to the deep-seated psychological mechanisms that make all of us vulnerable. As Looby revealed to Mediaweek, “We all think that, and actually statistically the more you think that, the more likely you are to be duped.” This isn’t just an idle observation; it’s a chilling statistical reality. Helping to unpack this uncomfortable truth is tech ethicist Tristan Harris, a prominent voice in understanding the dark side of technology. He argues that social media platforms are designed, almost ingeniously, to exploit our inherent evolutionary structures, our hardwired impulses and vulnerabilities, making our susceptibility entirely unrelated to our degrees or intellectual prowess. It’s not about being ‘smart’ or ‘dumb’; it’s about being human. To vividly illustrate this, Hamish Macdonald himself became a guinea pig, undergoing tests to measure his susceptibility to digital distraction – a sort of litmus test for multitasking ability in the face of constant digital assault. And, to his own probable chagrin, he “wiped out.” Looby let slip a delicious detail: Macdonald actually performed worse on an editing task than the university students tested alongside him. The takeaway? Multitasking, a skill we often pride ourselves on, is largely a myth, and we’re all pretty terrible at it. Further pushing the scientific rigor, Macdonald even tested his own mother, asking her to distinguish between a real photo of him and an AI-generated doppelganger. The result highlighted another terrifying aspect of AI’s advancement: when it comes to identifying AI-generated faces, humans essentially guess, giving her a 50/50 chance of distinguishing her own son from a digital phantom. These deeply personal and relatable experiments underscore the series’ central, unsettling message: nobody, not even a seasoned journalist or his loving mother, is truly immune to the sophisticated manipulations of the digital age.
To bring some of the more abstract concepts of digital division down to earth, the production team journeyed to Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak, to explore a local dispute with global implications: the debate surrounding wild brumbies. This seemingly regional issue serves as a powerful microcosm, demonstrating how a single topic can violently splinter a community, pushing individuals into deeply entrenched, tribal camps. Looby explained the phenomenon: “People end up in these really entrenched camps, and where they’re getting their information from, is their camp, from their tribe.” Half the community staunchly denies the presence of these wild horses, while the other half insists they know specific animals by name and distinguishing marks. This profound disagreement over verifiable facts leads to a truly terrifying question – the very core that the entire series probes: “This is the morass you land in, which is kind of the crux for the whole series,” Looby revealed. “What happens when we don’t believe anything anymore?” This isn’t just a question about brumbies; it’s a question about democracy, about shared reality, about the very fabric of society. If we can’t agree on basic facts, if our tribes provide us with alternate realities, how can we possibly solve collective problems? The Kosciuszko example brilliantly grounds this existential threat in a tangible, relatable context, showing how even local issues can become battlegrounds where truth is the first casualty, mirroring the larger global information wars playing out on our screens every day.
The series further explores how disinformation is weaponized as a tool for securing power, venturing to the Philippines – a nation often dubbed a “testing ground” for social media tactics before they go global. Looby, Macdonald, and their crew attended political rallies there, observing a dramatically different style of campaigning than what Australians are accustomed to. What immediately struck them was the overwhelming presence of social media influencers, who had effectively supplanted traditional media in these environments. The sheer ubiquity of their presence was such that the Electoral Commission there widely assumes these influencers, often pushing specific party lines, are being compensated for their efforts. With an staggering 90 million social media users in the Philippines, many of whom rely almost exclusively on these platforms for information, the influence of these personalities on voting habits is profound and undeniable. A pivotal figure in the series is Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, a courageous voice against digital authoritarianism. Ressa delivers a stark warning: the tactics refined in the Philippines – the rapid spread of narratives, the weaponization of online mobs, the creation of emotional content designed to bypass critical thought – are not contained. They are, she cautions, rolled out globally, impacting elections and public discourse even in countries like the United States. Looby emphasizes that Ressa’s insights serve as a crucial global wake-up call, a desperate plea to recognize the insidious nature of the digital environment. “She talks about this murky water that we swim in and our increasing inability to recognize when we’re in it,” Looby recounts. “And says, wake up.” It’s a powerful and urgent reminder that the digital strategies of today’s political influencers represent a fundamental shift in how power is gained and maintained, threatening to destabilize truth and democracy on a scale we’ve never before witnessed.
Creating a documentary about lies, especially when 97% of the population struggles with basic fact-checking, presents an almost Sisyphean task of ensuring its own veracity. The irony is palpable: how do you build trust in a project that reveals how deeply trust has eroded? Thankfully, Looby and her team rose to this monumental challenge, finding enough skilled individuals to ensure the documentary itself is a bastion of truth. “I would say we do land in the 3% of people who know how to fact-check,” Looby proudly stated, highlighting the extraordinary effort required. If one were to peer at the script, she notes, it would be “very heavily footnoted” – a testament to the meticulous, almost obsessive, dedication to accuracy. Looby reflected on the staggering growth of online misinformation by comparing it to her previous work, directing “Strong Female Lead,” the documentary about former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Even back in 2013, she recalled, there was a vast amount of material to draw from regarding the vitriol Gillard faced. However, the sheer volume of digital toxicity and the pace at which it evolves have exploded terrifyingly since Gillard’s time in office. “If we were doing that doco now, imagine that amount of information,” Looby mused, hinting at the overwhelming deluge of negative content. “The memes about Julia Gillard. I mean, they’re still going on.” Despite spending a full year immersed in the darkest corners of the internet, witnessing the erosion of truth firsthand, Looby remarkably holds onto a flicker of optimism. She notes a significant and growing public hunger for digital literacy, evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of educational programs at local libraries, where people are signing up in droves to learn how to navigate this complex world. It’s a small but significant detail, suggesting that awareness is indeed growing, and with it, perhaps, a collective will to fight back. As for her next project after tackling the global collapse of truth? Looby is understandably ready for a change of pace, and her response feels wonderfully human and hopeful. “I’m looking to do a feature documentary next, and I’m looking for projects that have laughter in them,” she shared. “I am going for laughs.” It’s a reminder that even in the face of daunting challenges, the human spirit yearns for joy, and perhaps, a dose of laughter is exactly what we need after confronting “The Matter of Facts.”