Australia's media watchdog has launched its Deadly Online Project to improve the cybersmarts of Indigenous Australians.
Contrary to popular thought, social media misuse isn't simply an urban or suburban phenomenon, community groups say it's a very real problem in Indigenous communities too.
"They were sites that were allowing a lot of gossip and rumour and innuendo to be put out there and causing a lot of angst between family groups, resulting in violence in the community," said Larina Burke from the Geraldton Indigenous Coordination Centre.
To tackle this problem, Australia’s media watchdog ACMA has launched the Be Deadly Online Project to show the link between online actions and real life consequences.
"It leads to real physical violence, but it also leads to a lot of emotional distress, psychological violence and breakdown of community," ACMA Deputy Chair Richard Bean told SBS.
The idea isn't to scare Indigenous people away from using the Internet, Mr Bean says, but to encourage the community to think about what they're putting online and how it can affect their future.
After a year of of work to get it fully functional, the project is aiming to reach Indigenous people across Australia, including school children, elders and community groups.
Be Deadly Online - Digital Footprint
