FRONTLINE 4: The murmuration of information disorders: Aotearoa New Zealand‚ mis- and disinformation ecologies and the Parliament Protest

Abstract

The Parliament Protest from February 2022 to March 2022 was a significant online and offline event in Aotearoa New Zealand. Offline, its physical presence captured the attention of the nation and fuelled debates about ideas of legitimate protest in Aotearoa New Zealand. Online, its data signatures showed never-seen-before popularity with misinformation, disinformation, and extremist thought. In this article The Disinformation Project (https://thedisinfoproject.org/) incorporates quantitative and qualitative data analysis to explore the role misinformation and disinformation played in the nurture and nature of the protest on Parliament grounds. The article also explores how the protest was projected on social media, disinformation and misinformation ecologies associated with it, and lasting impacts on social cohesion, identity, news media and democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand. This article has been published with permission from The Disinformation Project (https://thedisinfoproject.org/), Te Pūnaha Matatini, and Centre for Science in Society, Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington as a collaboration with Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa under the umbrella of PJR’s Frontline critical reflexive journalism programme.

Keywords

• authoritarianism
• democracy
• disinformation
• extremism
• identity
• misinformation