The Australian Electoral Commission says it is seeing more threats against staff in the lead up to the Voice referendum than during any other electoral event, as the agency battles against the rise of "tinfoil hat-wearing" conspiracy theories.
Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Commissioner Tom Rogers told reporters that hate and misinformation were at an all-time high as Australia heads into its first referendum since the birth of social media.
"We've seen higher levels of, I would use the term vitriol, online than we've ever seen for any electoral event," Mr Rogers said.
"We've certainly seen more threats against agency staff than we've seen previously, which I think, frankly, is a disgrace.
"And without wishing to blow this up into a big event - because I don't want to take on the internet - some of the stuff we are seeing still, frankly, is tinfoil hat-wearing bonkers mad conspiracy theories."
Mr Rogers listed off a number of claims that the AEC has seen around the referendum process in the lead up to October 14, including that it is using voting machines (votes are cast on paper ballots in Australians), and that agency staff erase votes.
A key issue is that social media platforms are not responding to requests to take down misleading posts.
Out of 47 referendum-related social media items the commission had concerns with, only 16 had been acted on by platform operators, he said.
The commissioner said there had been a "reduction in platforms' overall willingness to act".
"We've had a few things over the last couple of weeks that have effectively been veiled threats of violence to staff," he said.
"We've referred those to platforms and almost universally they've come back and said that doesn't breach their standard."
The Federal Court on Wednesday dismissed an application against the AEC this week challenging the referendum voting formality process.
The AEC has told voters to write either "yes" or "no" on the referendum ballot paper.
There are long-standing rules - that have been in place for more than three decades and several referendums - that mean a tick likely counts as a vote, while a cross doesn't.
United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet and the party's chairman, mining magnate Clive Palmer, went to the court seeking to have ballot papers marked with a cross or 'X' counted as a vote against the proposed alteration to the constitution.
But in dismissing the application, Justice Steven Rares said a cross could indicate agreement, disapproval or an unwillingness to answer the question at all, while a tick was not similarly ambiguous, either indicating approval or an affirmative response.
- With AAP
