FRONTLINE 3: The NZ media and the occupation of Parliament

Abstract

Commentary: There is little reason to doubt that groups like Advance New Zealand, Voices for Freedom and Counterspin Media have been funded in part by donations from ‘the people’ or ‘everyday Kiwis’; New Zealanders are no less likely to disseminate misinformation—and fund that dissemination—than any other group. Nonetheless, questions remain about the role of foreign linked entities like Himalaya New Zealand on the fringe of New Zealand politics. Parliament grounds have been cleared and the grass will regrow, but the disinformation networks behind the protests remain. The role for media in the coming months, and likely years, will be to not ignore these disinformation networks (and not unwittingly provide content for them) but to investigate them and analyse the role they are playing in the contemporary ‘post-truth’ world.

Keywords

• alt-right
• anti-vaxxers
• citizen's arrest
• conspiracy theorists
• Counterspin Media
• disinformation