Think tank warns social media outrage fuelling distrust and division
Online outrage and disinformation spreading across social media are emerging as a serious threat to Australia’s social cohesion, according to a new report that warns the country is facing growing pressure from polarisation, terrorism and foreign conflicts.
The analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argues that social cohesion is now a strategic national capability that must be protected in the same way as defence or cybersecurity. It says social media platforms are accelerating outrage and grievance, weakening trust in institutions and helping create conditions where online hostility can spill into real-world harm.
Hate online (Unsplash)
The report says social media platforms often reward speed and spectacle rather than nuance, helping amplify grievance and disinformation.
“Across this period, social media have turbocharged outrage, normalised aggression online and collapsed the space between online hostility and offline harm,” the report states.
Rather than calling for censorship, the institute argues that social cohesion should be treated as a national capability that must be actively built and protected.
“What Australia now requires, as individuals, communities and a nation, is a strengthened capacity to hold multiple, sometimes uncomfortable, beliefs simultaneously,” the report states.
“A democratic society must be capable of condemning terrorism, criticising state conduct, encouraging policy debate and protecting minority communities simultaneously, without collapsing into moral absolutism or grievance-based justifications.”
The report also highlights the role of foreign information operations in deepening social division. It warns that hostile states can exploit polarised debates by amplifying inflammatory narratives online.
“Foreign adversaries are increasingly adept at exploiting social fractures within democratic societies,” the report notes, adding that digital platforms allow these actors to “amplify polarising content and manipulate public debate at scale.”
By pushing emotionally charged or misleading narratives into already heated discussions, the report argues, adversaries seek to erode trust in institutions and weaken democratic resilience.
The report says trust in government, media and institutions has declined following major events including the COVID-19 pandemic, the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and the terror attack targeting the Jewish community at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Similar concerns have been raised by the Online Hate Prevention Institute, which has documented rising levels of online hostility directed at minority communities in Australia.
Dr Andre Oboler, chief executive of the institute, said the online environment has played a significant role in increasing tensions.
“Our social cohesion has been frayed, and Australia’s Jewish community is left living in fear,” he said in response to rising antisemitism following the October 7 attacks.
Oboler said the institute had recorded thousands of examples of antisemitic content online in recent years, warning that hostility often begins with narratives spreading on social media before spilling into public life.
Together, the findings from the two reports suggest the dynamics of digital platforms are amplifying outrage, weakening trust in institutions and narrowing the gap between online hostility and real-world harm.
The ASPI report recommends the federal government appoint a national resilience communications lead within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to coordinate a national social cohesion communications strategy.
It also proposes the creation of a digital outrage risk index, overseen by the eSafety Commissioner, to monitor what it describes as “hyper-virality events” that can rapidly inflame public tensions.
By Grace Crivellaro/AAP March 5, 2026, 6:00 AM
