False Advertising Is a Crime—Unless You’re a Politician

Your local fish and chip shop is held to a higher standard than Parliament.

In any serious system of accountability, the importance of a promise increases the obligation to keep it. In modern politics, however, the more consequential the promise, the less accountability seems to follow when it is broken.

Why is that?

If a business falsely advertises a product, it’s treated as a serious breach of trust. Let me give you an example:

In 2022, Samsung published advertisements showing Galaxy phones being used in pools and seawater, suggesting they were suitable for such conditions. The ads featured activities like surfing and poolside use, accompanied by promotional claims about capturing beach adventures.

Here’s a sampling of advertisements used:

Example of Samsung’s advertisements from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s website.

Example of Samsung’s advertisements from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s website.

Example of Samsung’s advertisements from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s website.

You get the idea. As a result, the company admitted its advertisements had misled consumers about the water resistance of its phones, and the Federal Court ordered Samsung Electronics Australia to pay $14 million in penalties.

But why is it, when it comes to political promises, which are far more consequential, that the standard is lowered, not raised? Shouldn’t it be the exact opposite?

Why do we hold Samsung—or even the local fish and chip shop!—to a higher standard than our own politicians?

A business can face severe penalties for misleading customers about a product, yet politicians can make promises that influence tax laws, affect the lives of millions, and alter the course of an entire nation, only to abandon those promises without consequence.

So, why are those entrusted with the greatest power often held to the lowest standard of accountability?

Today, broken commitments are brushed off as “just politics,” and the result is a strange social inversion where the more important the promise, the less accountability there appears to be for breaking it.

Make it make sense.

Little wonder that One Nation’s “Fire the Liar” fundraiser has reached $4 million in public donations. The campaign seems to be the best shot Australian citizens have at holding our lying politicians to account.