Blog post
June 24, 2019

Trial by media – are you Royal Commission ready?

Arm your business with intel

‘It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it’– Benjamin Franklin

Since its announcement in October, the media has covered – and created – a significant amount of dialogue surrounding the string of scandals set to be uncovered in the upcoming Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Whether it’s the September 2018 Four Corners report nationally scrutinising the stories of those that were victim to improper aged care and health care standards, the coverage on court rulings and prosecutions against carers who have harmed the safety of patients, or the September 2017 article published by the Sydney Morning Herald comparing the reputation of aged care facilities to the human right violating character of Guantanamo Bay, the media has successfully invited fear and distrust in the quality of care aged care services provided across Australia. 

Investigations for the Royal Commission are targeted at the entire aged care sector – no aged care facility or governing organisation can be certain how this will affect their reputation, staff, operations or functioning. Being prepared and informed of what media is generated is imperative to stay proactive and primed for how the business could be affected. 

So how do you decide if your aged care facility needs to manage your reputation? You need to ask yourself:

Do the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference cover aspects or issues relevant to my organisation?

• Management systems
• Staffing
• Organisational development
• Instances of abuse, reportable assaults, neglect
• Failures of care
• Theft of belongings
• Hygiene 
• Quality of food
• Sanitary conditions
• Restrictions on freedom and movement

Do we want to manage these topics or issues through any of the following?

• Campaign tracking
• Crisis management
• Identifying influencers
• Measuring and analysing success
• Media monitoring
• Reputation management
• Risk management
• Straightforward reporting

Mediaportal gives you access to all relevant media data, ensuring you’re ready to deal with, and proactively plan, communications and PR activities amidst the Royal Commission inquiry.
Covering all top media and relevant regional outlets, our Mediaportal platform ensures you’re informed of the media landscape before you are hit with a crisis.

Visit www.isentia.com/aged-care for more details and to register for a complimentary 5-day trial of our Aged Care Briefing.

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Stay informed throughout the Royal Commission

The Royal Commission is well underway, and it's imperative for aged care organisations to be aware of the media generated, and how it could affect your business or communications.

Keen to stay on top of it all?

Let our team help!

We can provide you with a comprehensive view of the topics and spokespeople through delivering insights to you and your team. We can aid in decision making and help your organisation manage your reputation.

Get in touch with us today!

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Whitepaper
Snapshot of the aged care industry

The Royal Commission into Aged Care has commenced, and the standards within the aged care sector are now under review. Download our information sheet to gain a better understanding of the aged care sector and how our exclusive aged care media briefing service can benefit your organisation throughout the Royal Commission.

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Your daily briefing to keep you informed

Coverage of the Royal Commission is expected to highlight the failure of aged care institutions and leaders within the sector.

Our Briefing can be tailored to your organisation’s specifications and requirements. Manage your reputation and ensure you are aware of the media generated.

Get a sample briefing of what you could be receiving each day.

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Whitepaper
Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established on 8 October 2018 and since its announcement, over 28,000 new stories have been discussed across print, online, radio and broadcast outlets in Australia.

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Australia’s upcoming social media ban for minors hasn’t been primarily driven organic debate. Instead, it’s unfolded through a deliberate, tightly paced sequence of government-led communications, each phase designed to build momentum, secure legitimacy, and keep control of the public narrative.

What we’re seeing in the media data isn’t a spontaneous rise in interest, but a pattern of spikes that line up neatly with major government moments. Each one serves a purpose in a broader narrative strategy, and each reveals something about where the public conversation is heading next.

The rollout of Australia’s social media ban has followed something of a three-act script. It really began on the world stage, with Prime Minister Albanese’s UN address framing the policy as a “world-first” and earning global praise that positioned Australia as a leader rather than a legislator under pressure, a narrative heavily amplified across bulletins nationwide. Momentum built when Denmark echoed the proposal, turning the story from an Australian policy into a global movement and giving journalists a reason to return to it without new domestic detail. Subsequently, the focus shifted home, with the launch of the government’s ad campaign. Coverage has moved from delivery to confirmation, from diplomacy to daily life, embedding the message of child safety through stories designed to connect emotionally with parents before the ban takes effect. 

Media coverage of the social media ban is being driven by a hierarchy of voices. At the top are the political architects, Anthony Albanese and Anika Wells, who account for 68% of all quoted commentary. Their dominance reflects a message tightly controlled from the centre, with each public appearance designed to reinforce authority and focus the debate. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant follows as the enforcer, providing regulatory credibility and keeping the story alive through ongoing updates and meetings with tech companies.Around them, Emma Mason’s personal story gives the policy its emotional weight, while expert voices like Dr Jason Nagata and Mitch Prinstein lend scientific legitimacy. Counter-voices such as Patrick McGorry are present but faint, just 1% of total commentary. Together, these strands create a coordinated ecosystem where political leadership, regulation, expertise, and emotion work in unison to sustain a single, dominant narrative.

The next layer of coverage reveals how the story’s momentum is being sustained, not just by government messaging, but by the constellation of organisations caught in its orbit. Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat remain the gravitational centre of the conversation, collectively shaping more than a thousand mentions each. They are the policy’s focal point and the media’s shorthand for what’s at stake. 

Stories about ministerial meetings, enforcement challenges, and pleas for exemptions ensure these brands stay in the headlines, but on government terms, framed as subjects of regulation rather than equal participants in debate. This has also surfaced one of the key underlying questions: Will the ban actually work? There is a significant narrative thread focused on the practical challenges of enforcement, with YouTube widely quoted in the media as saying the ban is "'extremely difficult' to enforce". 

With the media also reporting that the government will rely on "artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioural data to reliably infer age" rather than hard age verification, the public is left asking: If tech giants say it's unenforceable and teens are already finding ways around it, what will this law actually achieve? 

The eSafety Commission anchors the enforcement narrative, while the European Commission’s support sustains the “world-first” framing abroad. As the scope of the ban widens, platforms like Roblox, Discord and Reddit have been pulled into focus, signalling how the policy, and its coverage, keeps expanding. This has forced the core question into the open: What is a "social media platform" in 2025?

Although the government’s narrative still dominates, a set of counter-stories is emerging, focusing on the policy’s real-world consequences. Central to these stories are concerns about young people losing access to vital online connections, particularly among regional or marginalised communities. Advocates for the LGBTIQA+ community and youth mental health experts like Professor Pat McGorry argue that the ban could isolate teenagers who rely on online spaces for support, and entrepreneurial opportunities. Other reporting has questioned the reliability of AI-based age verification, the volume of data collected, and the risk that well-intended rules might backfire, creating unintended consequences that contradict the policy’s goal of child safety. These counter-narratives remain smaller in scale than the dominant political messaging, but they cut through because they frame the debate around everyday impacts rather than top-down authority.

A particularly visible strand of coverage centres on the unclear definition of “social media” in the legislation. While the public typically thinks of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the law’s wording has forced a broader debate that draws in platforms such as Roblox, Discord, and Steam. The eSafety Commissioner’s proactive enforcement measures have highlighted these regulatory ambiguities, prompting media to question whether platforms with different primary purposes should be included and whether the policy might trade one harm for another. Discord drew attention following a poorly timed data breach, which the public and media linked to potential ID theft risks. These reports show how regulators and secondary players can keep the conversation alive, highlighting risks, opening new angles, and forming alliances that complicate the policy debate. A notable example is YouTube’s effort to argue it should not be classified as a social media platform, citing the platform’s role in launching careers like Australian artist Troye Sivan as part of a broader cultural and creative ecosystem.

Together, these stories illustrate that while the government controls the main narrative, emerging counter-voices are beginning to shape the media conversation in ways that emphasise practical and social realities.

Learn how Isentia helps comms teams manage media coverage and public opinion around major policy changes.

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Blog
Australia’s social media ban played out in the headlines

Australia’s upcoming social media ban for minors hasn’t been primarily driven organic debate. Instead, it’s unfolded through a deliberate, tightly paced sequence of government-led communications, each phase designed to build momentum, secure legitimacy, and keep control of the public narrative. What we’re seeing in the media data isn’t a spontaneous rise in interest, but a […]

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The global landscape of Muslim travel has fundamentally changed in the post-pandemic era. We are no longer talking about a niche market but about a dynamic, rapidly expanding demographic reshaping global tourism. We recently worked on a co-branded report with Have Halal, Will Travel (HHWT), which included an analysis of 1.4 million data points on mainstream and social media sources in the APAC region from 1st November 2024 - 31st August 2025 to a significant shift in modern travel. Asia has emerged as the new epicentre for travel conversations, surpassing the Middle East. As countries seek to attract this market for economic growth, especially amid declining tourism from other regions, the space has become crowded. For brands and destinations looking to capitalise on the right audiences, superficial efforts are no longer enough. Being authentic is the crucial currency in this new world.

Prashant Saxena, VP of Revenue and Insights, for the SEA region presented this report at the Have Halal, Will Travel Deep Dive session on "Brave New World" that saw PR & Comms and marketing folks from airlines, hotels and tourism boards interested to understand what the latest travel insights are and why Muslim travel is surging. We interacted with the attendees at our booth to introduce them to our media monitoring and audience intelligence capabilities.

Walking the talk: building culturally inclusive infrastructure

Destinations and brands are "walking the talk" by moving beyond marketing campaigns to tangible, on-the-ground investment. Nations are actively developing Muslim-friendly infrastructure, including airlines, hotels, and payment platforms, to cater to this influx of travelers. This does not mean providing only basic services, but rather aiming to be as culturally inclusive as possible by embedding Muslim-friendly considerations into the travel experience. This is also in part exacerbated by the decline in Chinese travellers to Southeast Asia, which has led to nations in this region attracting Muslim tourists and looking at them as the best option, seeing how much of a muslim crowd there already is domestically.

For example, Vietnam is building a comprehensive Halal tourism ecosystem with the goal of establishing Muslim-friendly zones in its capital by 2030. Similarly, the Philippines has rolled out halal-accredited establishments and essential services like healthcare and finance , while Australia is mainstreaming halal food alongside other ethical/lifestyle choices like 'vegan' and 'gluten-free'. This changes the narrative, showing a deep commitment that resonates far more powerfully than a simple welcome.

Owning the narrative by navigating traveller concerns

The necessity is for brands and tourism destinations to take control of the story, even when there are issues. The opportunity is immense, but travellers are acutely aware of challenges. Conversations around rising costs and scams have dominated online discussions, particularly in Southeast Asia. Countries like Malaysia and Turkey have seen negative sentiment due to issues with halal certification and travel scams, which erode trust at a foundational level. In Indonesia, some even link inflation to the regulatory burdens of halal certification on small businesses.

The best way for brands and tourism groups to address these concerns is to clearly explain what they are doing to fix them. Admitting there are problems shows responsibility and helps build trust by proving they listen to travelers. Technology, like apps for faith-based services, is helpful, but it is not enough on its own. They must be backed by transparent action on the ground.

The authenticity playbook: a strategic guide to aid authentic communication

Brands need to understand that in an increasingly digital world, audiences are highly alert to signals of what feels "real". The report introduces an "authenticity playbook" that outlines key cues that shape whether audiences trust and engage with content. The analysis shows that social media posts with more authenticity cues or signals have higher engagement rates.

To make the most of this, brands should create strategies that are both efficient and focus on the human qualities people care about. Communication from brands or leaders should include:

  • Cultural anchoring: Brands should do more than just make small gestures. They can offer useful guides for halal food, point out easy-to-find prayer spaces, and highlight truly inclusive experiences. For example, AirAsia understands its audience and operates many flights between countries with large Muslim populations. The airline makes its message clear through special deals, collaborations with influencers, and partnerships with online travel agencies to offer the best packages, while also promoting halal food and Muslim-friendly services.
  • Endorsement and validation: Brands should work with trusted Muslim travel influencers and, even more importantly, encourage regular travelers to share their stories and reviews. This kind of social proof is much more believable than traditional ads.
  • Consistent voice: Brands need to maintain a reliable, familiar tone across all communication channels. Being consistent shows they are stable and committed, which helps build a strong brand image over time.

The Muslim travel market is evolving with sophistication and purpose. Travellers today are looking for more than just halal food options. They are seeking digital detox retreats inspired by Islamic values, regenerative tourism that supports local communities, and safe spaces for solo female travelers. For destinations and brands, the path forward requires an authentic and strategic commitment. The ones that master the art of genuine connection and consistently "walk the talk" will not only capture a share of this thriving market but will also earn its most valuable asset: trust.


Interested in learning how Isentia can help? Fill in your details below to get access to our latest co-branded report on "Muslim Travel Pulse: evolving audience perception on Muslim food, travel and trade" and read more about our cues designed to measure brand authenticity.

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Muslim travel in the modern era: how brands cater to serve cultures more inclusively

Learn the major cues or signals that help PR leaders and brands measure authenticity, to deal with reputation risks and rebuild trust.

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Get in touch or request a demo.