United Australia party and Coalition MPs denounced for ‘totally misleading’ claim about WHO

UAP uses full-page print ads to perpetuate baseless claim about a possible pandemic treaty as calls grow for uniform election media blackout rules

• Follow our Australian election live blog for the latest updates
• Read our latest election briefing and listen to today's campaign catchup podcast
• Voters' guide to the election: everything you need to know
• Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage
• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing

Experts have denounced a totally misleading" claim perpetuated by government MPs and the United Australia party that the World Health Organization will use a possible pandemic treaty to control Australia's health system, including to arbitrarily impose lockdowns.

Political parties and candidates, as of Wednesday, are barred from running election ads on broadcast mediums but not on social media and in print, an inequity that experts have repeatedly urged government to fix.