Australia’s election campaign will be the first political event transmitted online via Facebook Live
Facebook in partnership with news.com.au will be hosting the first online electoral debate in the country. The event will welcome Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull, as well as his competitor and leader of the Labor Party, Bill Shorten for the first time ever in an on-line live confrontation.
“This is the most exciting time to be an Australian and to participate in an election debate in the media of our time. These are the platforms that many people, many would say most Australians, see most of their media on, most of their news, and I think it’s important that we have an innovative election and that we use the platforms that Australians use,” Turnbull commented.
The debate is forecasted to reach millions of Australians. No confrontation date has been decided so far, despite the election day being set for the 2nd of July.
Initially, the last debate between the two candidates was scheduled to be held by Sky News in Queensland. Nevertheless, Turnbull turned down the offer in favour of the Facebook Live debate, due to larger audience of the social media platform.
