Deepfakes, fake news, misinformation and disinformation: the internet is full of it, and it’s only become more pernicious with advances in AI. Like any new technology or tool, they can be used for good purposes or bad ones.

One Nation’s people – especially Pauline herself – have had volumes of fake material about them splattered all over social media. Much of it appears to come from overseas social media accounts: a clear example of foreign interference in our democracy.

And so it was this week that ‘independent’ senator David Pocock tried to move his own bill giving ‘e-Karen’ (the e-Commissioner) broad powers to take down deepfakes that people find offensive.

The highlight of the debate was the contribution of the Greens, who basically accused One Nation of being responsible for the entire phenomenon. According to ‘Sea Patrol’ senator Sarah Hanson-Young, we’re up to our necks in it.

It’s completely untrue, of course. The truth is that One Nation’s unrivalled social media audience is effectively being piggy-backed: any mention of Pauline or One Nation is guaranteed to trigger algorithms and gain a lot of views. That’s not our fault, and we’re not going to apologise that more Australians follow our social media than any other political party’s. That’s what has Hanson-Young ‘green’ with envy.

Pauline herself responded, noting she herself had experienced it more than anyone else and then suggesting her fellow politicians grow a thicker political hide. In many respects, deepfakes are a problem and need to be dealt with, but Pocock’s bill was so poorly put together it seriously threatened freedom of political communication, political satire and even our popular ‘Please Explain’ cartoon series. So poor was it, even Labor voted it down.