AOD Media Watch,
Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Media Watch is based on the same premise as the ABC show Media Watch. AOD Media Watch is run by a group of researchers and clinicians who work in the field, that aims to highlight poor examples of journalism regarding AOD-related issues in the hope that they can assist journalists to report more objectively using science and evidence rather than perpetuating myths, opinions and moral panic.
Research has found moral panics in the media can actually be detrimental, by counter-intuitively leading to increased drug use since it increases the perception that more people are using the drug than actually are. It has also been found that moral panics reduce the degree to which some people believe that the drug being reported on is harmful. It also reduces the credibility of AOD information in the media.
- AOD Media Watch fact-checks stories here