{
  "id": 16641440,
  "title": "Almost half of all comments on MPs' social media flagged as abusive",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/almost-half-of-all-comments-on-mps-social-media-flagged-as-abusive",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-26T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-27/labor-mps-turn-to-ai-to-combat-online-abuse-threats/107311412"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new AI moderation tool, called Areto, has exposed the alarming prevalence of abusive comments on the social media accounts of Labor MPs and senators. The tool identified roughly 5,000 threats and violent comments directed at a sample of 22 Labor politicians over a three-month period in July to October. Almost half of the more than 460,000 comments analyzed fell under the abusive category, while gender-based abuse, racism, and transphobia constituted the most frequently identified issues. High-profile accounts received a disproportionately large number of attacks, with one MP facing 57,522 abusive comments alone. Facebook hosted about 94% of all comments, with 51% of them deemed abusive. The tool, which helps differentiate abusive content from genuine political criticism, has been welcomed by Labor MPs as a crucial step in protecting their well-being and online safety. However, senior public servants and politicians have criticized social media platforms for failing to address the escalating abuse, which they argue has a chilling effect on genuine community engagement and is having a detrimental impact on mental health.",
  "summary": "Labor MPs are turning to an AI tool to strip numerous abusive comments and threats from their pages, but they want social media companies to take responsibility.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}