Do you know what the phrase “flooding the zone with shit” means? It’s a political strategy being executed with full force in Australia right now – particularly by the hard right faction of the Liberal and National parties. If you’re Gen Z or have only begun to follow news and politics in the past few years it might not be an idea you’re familiar with, but understanding it is crucial.
So let’s get it on the record. ‘Flooding the zone with shit’ means to put out so much false, meaningless and absurd information that the media can no longer tell what’s real and what’s not, and has no choice but to repeat it all to the public (just in case some of it ends up being important). It comes from the sports term ‘flood the zone’, which means to apply a lot of pressure to the opposing team’s weakest spot. The addition of ‘with shit’ comes from Donald Trump’s infamous strategist Steve Bannon. In 2018, Bannon explained to Bloomberg that Trump’s entire political strategy: “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”
The goal is not to convince people of the things you’re saying – it’s to get the media to report the most unbelievable, unreliable statements possible, as often as possible. Seeing absurd shit and obvious lies in the media everyday overwhelms the public, makes them distrust the media and ultimately tune it all out. Now, the public is disengaged and the media has no credibility to hold powerful people accountable… and that’s the real win.
While this is not new news, the strategy has been steadily increasing in Australia (I’d say since about 2019). Right now, Peter Dutton’s version of the Liberal party is using it with a scary level of effectiveness. For example, Dutton’s ‘promise’ to hold a second referendum if the Voice to Parliament proposal fails. He is not even trying to pretend he really means that. Even the most die-hard Liberal members don’t believe he means that. So when we see every single mainstream media outlet report and debate this as if it’s important, we roll our eyes. We ignore them. And we doubt their decision making skills. If respected journalists can’t see through this obvious bullshit, why should we trust them?
Disinformation expert Jiore Craig explains the goal is “to get you to be less sure of what’s coming out of anyone’s mouth or from any type of system.” This mass confusion has infected every aspect of public discussion around the Voice referendum, and politics in general.
It might seem counterintuitive that politicians like Dutton would want to breed distrust. Deterring voters works so well in the U.S. because voting is not compulsory – Craig told me that compulsory voting is one of Australia’s best protections against this strategy. But even so, public distrust of politicians and media benefits the status quo. The idea that ‘It doesn’t matter who you vote for, they’re all corrupt’ does more reputational damage to politicians who want to appear progressive. It convinces people that progressive politics, social change and equitable societies are not possible at all, and that you shouldn’t bother trying to hold powerful people to account.
Both of Australia’s major parties benefit from that idea (it’s why they’ve been able to ignore the calls to phase out fossil fuels for so long), but the already unpopular Coalition has far less to lose.
We have a big weakness too: the fact that the majority of Australian media is run by conservative men. Their willingness to constantly broadcast the most unserious ideas, easily debunked ideas ends up tainting all other media and commentators with the same brush. Publishing bullshit should be bad for business, but when you and your peers come from generational wealth, money is less of an issue. The ‘media is untrustworthy’ is therefore far more damaging to new, progressive and diverse voices who don’t have easy access to money to keep going. It’s not a game many independent voices can afford to play, so you will still see them get sucked into covering nonsense too.
While this might read like a straight up rewrite of my piece about not amplifying trolls and alt-right creators, there is a devastating difference. Because this strategy is used by people who already have power, and the target is the media as an institution, simply ignoring it is not enough. This isn’t about wannabe Internet celebrities trying to get clout, it’s about political figures creating mass confusion. So the power to do the right thing unfortunately lies within the parties themselves – with the few moderate voices within the Coalition, and the left faction of the Labor party.
For the rest of us, hopefully being able to identify and understand the strategy is a start.
Smart People Read More:
How Australia’s right is flooding the media zone to drown out diversity – Crikey
How to Stop Your Grandparents Getting Sucked In By Political Disinformation, According To An Expert
Life has gotten tougher and politics noisier. Can Australians still find the mindfulness to listen? – Guardian Australia
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