I’ll walk down to the local primary school next Saturday and cast my vote, but I will be in a minority. Most of my kids and both my parents would have already cast their ballots, along with two-thirds of the rest of the community.

Six days out, more than 2.4 million have already voted (2.395 million at end Saturday 26 April). That is 400,000 more that at the same point in the 2022 election, and more than ever before at this point.

Despite the urging of the Electoral Commission to get down and take part on the day, voting, along with many other things, is becoming less of a collective activity – as is how we find our facts and select our sources of information. That is, how we shape our views.

These diverse information (and persuasion) sources are occupying the minds of party and other candidate’s strategists. Remember the startling (dis)engagement figures I mentioned a few weeks ago? As of mid-April, 48% of voters had paid little or no attention to the campaign according to The Essential Poll. To quote one former ALP minister “people just don’t care”. While I am not as bleak as that, it is clear that many people are not focused on what has been a dull campaign, buffeted by international shocks like never before.

How is that playing out in the dying days?

If you have any form of social media, you would have noticed a dramatic uptick in activity in the past few days. At least 15 new TikTok videos from the ALP main account, over 24 hours – and this is just one platform. While I was counting, another four came out. And the content is certainly different, aimed at under-25s.

We are talking about very short videos, animated and/or rapidly cut-together attention-grabbers. Light on policy detail, heavy on humour, raising awareness of a candidate or a policy moment. They include: a mash-up of Anthony Albanese now and in his 20s, underlayed with ABBA singing Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight); animated characters with a Peter Dutton head karate-chopping a Medicare piñata; Greens Leader Adam Bandt dancing with a huge sparkling toothbrush and/or explaining, really clearly, how preferential voting works.

While it is tempting to dismiss this as largely unintelligible and/or possibly moronic, it’s not meant for me, or most Pearls and Irritations readers. Most of us have made up our minds, or will do so with reference to our friends or our preferred media outlets. My teenage daughters’ verdict was that the TikToks were “not cringe” and “actually funny”. And the statistics back them up. TikTok viewers are very quick to condemn the inauthentic, and the comments that flood the videos are mostly surprised and mostly positive.

Parties and independents have clearly employed young people to reach young people. It will be fascinating to see how that works out.

Traditional media tell us that the Coalition’s fortunes are waning, and Labor’s are lifting, with a gap between 3 and 5 percentage points (2PP) opening up (averaging all polls).

Independents and Greens are gaining primary-vote support.

For me, the front page of The Weekend Australian told a story. Not known as Labor lovers, it sported a huge, serious portrait of the prime minister, with both Paul Kelly and Dennis Shanahan talking of the PM’s “Mission” and quoting Albanese on stability. The powers that be at the Murdoch broadsheet have clearly decided Labor is going to win and they don’t want to be on the loser’s side.

From a clear-eyed assessment of the possibilities under a minority government, make sure you read Mike Keating today and Part 2 tomorrow. Also this week we feature a serious look at the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, from Eugene Doyle, and Andrew Podger investigates the impact Trump is having on the US civil service.

And we will continue to bring you the election issues big and small, right up to polling day.

As we have moved though the campaign it has been very clear that many are not prepared to accept the avoidance of big issues, and one of the biggest is the war on Palestine.

Acknowledging this, we have issued an e-book, featuring the best of the comprehensive coverage featured in Pearls and Irritations since the start of the war.

Israel: Palestine pushed beyond endurance: Creating balance in reporting the facts behind the conflict, aims to present the truth about the war. It looks at its deep origins, the distorted coverage that persists to this day, and the shameless attempts to shut down factual coverage with cries of antisemitism. Reading though the 167 pages, the daily, deadly toll, weighs heavily. But strong, too, is the collective voice of national leaders, from all faiths and backgrounds, from Palestine, Australia and beyond.

Many of the voices featured have gathered together under the banner Australians for Humanity. A webinar discussing the issues, and how to convert that passion into effective action, will take place tonight at 7pm. Readers are invited to join.

Until next week.