The definition of astroturf has taken a nefarious turn since social media found its way into our daily lives.

Key points: Concerns have been raised about online trolling that paints false narratives about candidates at this month's Queensland council elections

Concerns have been raised about online trolling that paints false narratives about candidates at this month's Queensland council elections A number of councils have lodged complaints, and things have become so personal that some people are not seeking re-election

A number of councils have lodged complaints, and things have become so personal that some people are not seeking re-election Targeted advertising allowing candidates to reach specific demographics on social media can also pose a problem for election integrity

Far from being a low-maintenance alternative to grass, astroturfing now refers to the creation of a false sense of political momentum online.

For those pushing a political agenda, the practice has become a form of organised trolling with the potential to impact the way people vote, including in Queensland's local council elections on March 28.

"They might be trying to set up fake accounts, and then steer those accounts to make it look like there are genuine grassroots community concerns about particular issues, when in fact they're pulling the strings from behind," said QUT associate professor Daniel Angus.

While social media offers people a way to discuss hyperlocal issues that do not necessarily make the headlines, efforts to curtail the spread of misinformation and personal attacks have been experimental at best.

Things are getting personal

Less than a month from the elections, the discussion surrounding some candidates on the Gold Coast have become personal.

Mary-Anne Hossack's husband, John, has been singled out online. ( Supplied: My Big Game Hunting Blog )

Division 10 candidate Mary-Anne Hossack was forced to defend herself over online criticism about her links to a well-known big-game hunter — her husband.

Many reactions on Facebook delved into personal attacks and ridicule, even verging on defamatory and threatening comments.

Last month, Division 12 candidate Zac Revere complained to the newly created Independent Council Election Observer (ICEO) that posts on a Facebook page with more than 2,400 members incorrectly accused him of receiving $50,000 in campaign donations from the LNP.

While Mr Revere is a member of the LNP, the Electoral Donations Register indicates he has donated $4,156 to his own campaign, with no other donors listed.

"Someone has done that without even thinking, but what they don't understand is they are seriously undermining the integrity of a democratic election," Mr Revere said.

"I'm getting phone calls on my personal phone that are quite abusive.

"That's part of the job about representing a community, it's all aspects of the community, but it's my family that I feel for who is really copping the brunt of it."

Zac Revere is running in the upcoming council elections. ( Supplied: Facebook )

What's being done?

Funded by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), the ICEO was formed in December to counter false or misleading claims made about candidates online.

Retired District Court judge John Robertson, who heads the group, said it was an Australian-first that was "basically an experiment".

"There's the fringe area — they're the people that just scream all the time and make offensive comments," he said.

"It can spread so rapidly, really within minutes; serious reputational damage can be done and it's really hard to reverse that."

Mr Robertson said ICEO had received complaints from around 20 per cent of the state's 77 councils but that the aim of responding to each [complaint] within 48 hours had proven to be "fairly unrealistic".

With fewer than 180 followers on the ICEO Facebook page, spreading the word on misinformation has also proven difficult.

Mr Robertson said the problem was, ultimately, a "worldwide phenomenon" that needed responses from national governments and tech companies.

Retired judge John Robertson heads the Independent Council Election Observer. ( ABC News: Talissa Siganto )

"I hope that maybe we provide some deterrent effect, but another layer of regulation in this space might be too much.

"Now that the genie is out of the bottle, how are they going to get it back in?"

Mr Robertson said he admired people who stood for local government but that the positions came with different community expectations.

"If you're elected, you are held, under Queensland law, to a very high standard of behaviour. I don't know if a lot of candidates realise that."

Anything political will have 'a negative tone'

Dr Angus said he questioned the effectiveness of the ICEO, given that "the horse had bolted" once misleading or false claims were published on social media.

"The problem is that it [ICEO] can't guarantee that its correction is going to reach the same audience that initially consumed the misinformation," he said.

"You can't help but see that anything that touches on anything political, is going to have generally a negative tone around it."

Along with trolling and misinformation, Dr Angus said targeted advertising, which allowed candidates to reach specific demographics on social media, also posed a problem for election integrity.

"When I do go past a billboard and I see it's something that I feel breaks a social standard — say, it contains racist messages — it's something that I can at least call out.

"But when those [social media] messages are being micro-targeted … we don't get to see those messages in public, so we can't call it out."

Call for critical thinking amid voter volatility

Dr Angus said a sense that voters were not being listened to was fuelling distrust in elected representatives and misbehaviour on social media.

"Don't take for granted that the commenters, and other individuals that we're seeing in the comments threads, are necessarily even real," he said.

"These might be fake accounts and others that are trying to steer our ideas and our policies in a particular direction.

"There's no way we which can absolutely filter all of it out, so we need to rely on ourselves to be critical of the information we come across."

Dr Angus's partner is a candidate in the Brisbane City Council election.