Remember I’ve studied this. When a false narrative takes off (JobKeeper form was filled in wrong), there is no way to stop it. Media never climbs down and admits they got it wrong. That would be too big a concession. Instead, they dig in. This is how disinformation spreads.

Anyone pointing out they’ve got it wrong - us tweeps - are called partisans, trolls and conspiracy theorists. Instead of accepting we might be right and they might be wrong, they attack those who call out their mistakes, framing us as illegitimate to save their own legitimacy.

How many times do we have to watch this happen before the media wakes up to the destruction they cause by failing at their most important role - shining a light on government rather than acting as the government’s publicity team? This isn’t a game.

When media spreads lies, those lies become reality. No one remembers in 2 years time all us tweeps correcting the record. A failure of media is a failure of democracy. When are individuals in the media going to stand up and say ‘we have to do better’. It’s so important.