Australia’s electoral officials ‘work with social media to tackle misinformation

Australian electoral authorities have for the first time set up a cybersecurity task force, an official said on Thursday. They are also working with social media companies to tackle misinformation in the run up to general elections on May 18. Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said safeguarding the election’s integrity gained priority “due to experiences in other countries,” AP reported. Rogers is having daily briefings with the Electoral Integrity Assurance Task Force, which comprises the nation’s major security agencies and government departments. He declined to detail the task force’s functions, saying they included dealing with disinformation spread through social media.