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The Voice referendum in Australia, which aimed to establish a First Nations Voice to Parliament, failed for several reasons. One key factor was the lack of bipartisan support, with public opinion polls showing a decline in support after opposition from Peter Dutton and the Nationals. Labor voters were also divided on the issue, with only 21 out of 78 Labor-held seats returning "yes" majorities. Demographic fault lines were evident, with inner metropolitan areas and Indigenous Australians more likely to support the Voice. The "no" campaign was simple, repetitive, and targeted, with conservative lobby group Advance Australia overseeing messaging and Indigenous campaigners bolstering the credibility of arguments against the referendum. Mis- and disinformation, as well as targeted attacks, were prevalent during the campaign, and other issues such as the cost of living crisis crowded out the Voice as a secondary concern. These factors combined to contribute to the referendum's defeat. [Extracted from the article]

The Washington Post declared it a "crushing blow" for Australia's First Nations people who "saw the referendum as an opportunity for Australia to turn the page on its colonial and racist past". One blunt BBC headline explicitly linked misinformation to racism: "Voice referendum: Lies fuel racism ahead of Australia's Indigenous vote". "Lies fuel racism": how the global media covered Australia's Voice to Parliament referendum. [Extracted from the article]

Recent polls indicate that in the closing weeks of the campaign, support for the "no" campaign has slowed somewhat, but "yes" still sits at around 42% nationally. The "yes" campaign is generating the most media and social media content. Four of the top five online advertisers are supporting the "yes" campaign, with A$364,000 in total advertising spending this past week. [Extracted from the article]

Read more: A divided Australia will soon vote on the mostsignificant referendum on Indigenous rights in 50 years Using data from Meltwater, a global media monitoringcompany, we have identified more than 1.7 million mentionsof the Voice to Parliament referendum in traditional andsocial media globally over the last three months. In late September, American rap legend MC Hammer made aspectacular intervention into Australia's upcomingreferendum to establish a Voice to Parliament for FirstNations people. [Extracted from the article]

The "yes" Voice campaign is far outspending "no" in online advertising, but is the message getting through? If this trend continues, the "yes" votewould sit at 39.6% on October 14, 5.5 percentage points below the"yes" vote in the republic referendum. With early voting set to open next week for the Indigenous Voice toParliament referendum, this is a critical time for campaigners to winover voters. [Extracted from the article]

We see the "no" campaigns recognise this and are having much greater engagement and visibility on TikTok than the "yes" campaign. In the first week after the prime minister revealed October 14 as the Voice to Parliament referendum date, the "yes" and "no" campaigns recast their messages, resulting in unprecedented news coverage and public engagement with the debate. The "no" campaign is dominating the messaging on the Voice referendum on TikTok - here's why. [Extracted from the article]