The election results were either, great, terrible or 'meh' depending where you sit, but it's interesting to see the different ways people and media have reacted to it.
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While I understand what writers are getting at when they say the election was a 'shock' win for the Coalition, I think it can be a bit iffy to describe it as such. Unless someone specifically stated that in a quote, referring to the election result as a 'shock' implies some kind of preconception on the part of the journalist reporting.
Most would have no problem with this and many more wouldn't even notice, but I think it's important to remind ourselves of the fact that one of the most important parts of being a journalist is going into something with no real idea of the outcome, so as to accurately report the facts with no bias.
I'm not saying there was any bias in the reporting I read, I can say there certainly was in some instances, but I try and stay away from those publications (you know who they are).
No one can change the results of the election, whether you like them or not. That's how democracy works. What's important now, especially for us as reporters, is to make sure those elected remain honest and to hold them to their promises that they so generously shared on the campaign trail.
The other most important aspect is accuracy. It was disappointing to see during the lead up to the election just how many misunderstandings and untruths were shared by those on social media. Sometimes intentionally.
It is so important to look at everything with a critical eye, especially when we're talking politics.
What's the source? What's the track record of the outlet reporting it? Does it sound like an exaggeration? Does it play on an emotion rather than presenting information?
Social media has had such a strong and bizarre effect on the way the world works. Instead of enhancing our understanding of the world and the issues we face together, it's allowed the collection of groups of people that don't really care about facts.
They'd rather share information that fits their world view - which is fine if your aim is to help people or better the world, but instead we're largely seeing people attacking others, spreading lies, hate and misinformation.
It would be interesting to see people vote on policy rather than being afraid or angry.
