New media, elections and the political knowledge gap in Australia

Gibson, Rachel; McAllister, Ian

Cultural advice

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that ANU Library collections may include images, names, voices, and other representations of deceased persons.

Material in the collection may contain terms, language or views that reflect the period in which the item was created and may be considered inappropriate today.

New media, elections and the political knowledge gap in Australia

Date

2015

Authors

Gibson, Rachel

McAllister, Ian

Publisher

Sage Publications Inc

Abstract

This article tests the hypothesis that the internet is exacerbating an existing knowledge gap in Australia. The data come from the Australian Election Study, which has measured voters’ political knowledge and internet use since 2001. The results support