Alternative media is reshaping Australia’s political landscape, challenging traditional narratives and amplifying marginalised voices. As online platforms gain influence, they are shifting public perceptions on issues like China, elections, and political identity.

Australian Alternative Media and Its Impact on Australian Public Debate

By Lewis Taylor

Australia’s recent election, which delivered Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party a historic electoral victory, was filtered through a variety of news and entertainment media, ranging from radio, TV, and newspapers, to various sources on the internet. While the poor campaign performance of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and a notably strong performance by Albanese throughout the campaign, drove the electoral outcome, online alternative media (OAM) also played a significant role.

Alternative media is defined as any media that is sufficiently subversive in content compared to mainstream media messaging. It is often defined by a “bottom up” approach, with average citizens taking part in political debate and playing what can be regarded as an activist role on certain topics. Typically, alternative media is defined by a wish to challenge and change the political status quo, with alternative media commentators and audiences often seeing ideals of “journalistic objectivity” as false, and perceiving mainstream media organisations as defined by a desire to perpetuate the existing social/political order.

In Hong Kong, for instance, alternative media was instrumental in starting and propagating protests against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government in the 2010s. In the US, alternative media has contributed to activism against the perceived “leftist” control of mainstream media in the country, contributing to a backlash at the polls.

From the late 2010s to the early 2020s, with high-speed internet use becoming more widely available in Australia, the spread of an activist political message has also grown. As stated in our research, media outlets and commentators including Jordan Shanks (FriendlyJordies), Guardian Australia, Michael West Media, Independent Australia, and others, have audiences ranging anywhere from 500,000 to well into the millions. The presence and significance of online alternative media outlets and commentators within Australia cannot therefore be understated or ignored.

Over the last few years, and with social media expanding, more alternative media voices have emerged. Instagram/YouTube celebrity Abbie Chatfield, for instance, uses her social media presence to spread left-wing political messages, with an Instagram following numbering 563,000. Fellow Instagram/YouTube commentator “Punters Politics” also boasts a large following of 419,000, where he criticises numerous Australian political parties, most notably the right.

Where traditionally media scholars acknowledge the dominance of the right in Australian mainstream/legacy media, it is the left that has surged ahead and adapted in the new age media of the Internet. As our research demonstrates, this shift in media access has translated into a growing influence of alternative messaging (particularly on views of foreign affairs like Australia-China relations and the rise of China), while also having an observable impact on domestic political issues. This has also resulted in the growth, and then explosion, of various outlets and commentators engaging in anything from straight journalism to opinion-based commentary.

Despite differences in approach and style, the commentators and outlets we examined are united by their generally left-leaning messaging. Though the level via which these sources can be considered “journalism” in the traditional sense is questionable, and despite the relatively unregulated environment of online alternative media (increasing the potential for mis- and dis-information), these online sources do provide value. Specifically, they allow voices who have been previously marginalised in public political debate to have a platform. This limits what Noam Chomsky terms the “agenda setting effect” of mainstream/legacy media, allowing for a wider spectrum of opinion within public debate.

The impact of Australian alternative media on foreign affairs and domestic political debate

How exactly has Australian OAM influenced views towards China? In light of US-China tensions and the anti-China rhetoric of the former Morrison government, placing the Chinese state and Australia-China relations at the forefront of Australian public debate around 2020-2021, at least four observations can be documented:

1. In our data set, a noteworthy number of audience members developed a more positive view of the People’s Republic of China after accessing Australian alternative media, with an overwhelming majority developing a more critical view of Australian mainstream media reporting on China. This was determined through asking interviewees whether they had shifted their opinions on China. Interviewees were also asked specific questions regarding their changing opinions of Australian mainstream media reporting on the Chinese state.
2. Many in the alternative media audience believe that Australian mainstream media reporting on China is a form of fake news, driven by a combination of political, commercial, and ideological motivations (rather than just straight reporting of facts).
3. There was a significant increase in levels of political engagement with China and related political issues due to accessing OAM. For instance, eighteen of the twenty interviewees expressed an increased interest in China related political issues after accessing Australian OAM, encouraging them to investigate issues further.
4. A significant shift in alternative media users’ political opinions occurred, including a shift from far right-wing to centre-left perspectives, and a shift from a far left to center-left perspectives (shifts in opinions on domestic politics affects international political outcomes as parties like Labor, The Greens, and the Liberals have observably different diplomatic approaches to China, and different approaches to US-China competition). These shifts reflected voting patterns during the 2025 Federal Election, with movement away from Liberal Party and The Greens back towards Labor.

Conclusion

Extensive research is needed to verify OAM’s impact on Australians’ political preferences. What matters from a policy-making standpoint is that some interesting shifts in public opinion do happen due to people accessing alternative media. And these changes are likely to be reflected in the shifts in voting behaviour seen nationally.

In the 2022 Federal Election campaign, anti-China rhetoric was a significant part of the discourse prior to the official campaign, with Scott Morrison frequently issuing anti-CCP statements. In 2025, Peter Dutton followed suit and tried to stir up a 2022 style China scare in the weeks just preceding the onset of the official  campaign, accusing Anthony Albanese, for instance, of being “limp-wristed” regarding the emergence of Chinese warships just outside Australia’s territorial waters. The effect of this was notably muted, with Dutton’s China rhetoric having no observable impact on the campaign at large or the electoral result. This stood in stark contrast to the 2022 campaign, where anti-China rhetoric on behalf of the Liberal Party was prominent.

Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Australians now seem ready for a more nuanced debate on China and Australia-China relations, and it’s very likely Australian alternative media is playing an important role in the changing nature of Australian public discourse concerning both China and Australia-China relations.

This article has been adapted from a larger study titled “Australian Alternative Media and its Impact on Australian Views of China,” published in The Journal of Australian Studies.

Lewis Taylor is a researcher with a strong interest in media and international affairs, as well as the convergence between the two.

https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/australian-alternative-media-and-its-impact-on-australian-public-debate/

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