Aotearoa Conspiracies Exposed

14/02/2024

David Seymour has denied any connection to the Atlas Network in an interview - which is weird, because there are just so many connections!

21/07/2023

11/05/2023

Beware of Dirty Politics this election, if you see something that doesn’t look right, call it out.

22/04/2023

30/03/2023

“The Thiel Foundation, the nonprofit charity of billionaire and right-wing megadonor Peter Thiel, gave millions of dollars in 2021 to a secretive donor-advised fund that has funneled money into groups that spread COVID denial as well as hate groups.”

Tax records reveal that the Thiel Foundation gave millions to a shadowy right-wing fund in 2021.

21/03/2023

Last week some of her supporters were seen giving N**i salutes.

20/08/2022

12/07/2022

The right to protest is an intrinsic part of New Zealand’s history and culture. But as societal shifts heighten tensions, some activists are facing...

15/06/2022

The co-founders of Groundswell admit they have not read the three waters legislation they are so vehemently against. More than 300 people gathered at the Gore Town and Country Club yesterday afternoon to voice their opposition to the government's proposed reforms, some had not read the bill. Grounds...

23/05/2022

On Facebook, right-wing media and Republican candidates have promoted variations of the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory that reportedly inspired the latest mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, helping to mainstream the hateful theory. In our latest study, we found that Fac...

18/05/2022

FACT Aotearoa knew from the first murmur of the convoy to Parliament that the ensuing Parliament Occupation would end in violence if it was not taken seriously, by the public or authorities. We’re not psychics. We were watching the New Zealand mis/disinformation sphere become more and more toxic by the day.

The Disinformation Project report “The murmuration of information disorders” encapsulates and adds to what we have seen in a stunning analysis of New Zealand’s mis/disinformation ecosystem. It lays bare the “splintered realities” driven by Aotearoa’s own “Disinformation Dozen,” and the need to renew efforts for social cohesion.

Read The Spinoff article: https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/18-05-2022/parliament-occupation-sparked-tectonic-shift-in-nz-disinformation-landscape

Dive into the full report here: https://thedisinfoproject.org/

06/05/2022

There is a lot of misinformation out there - and it is causing harm to many. We've collected resources to help you fight against conspiracy theories.

03/05/2022

03/05/2022

Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa is a researcher with the Te Pūnaha Matatini Disinformation Project and specialises in social media communications strategy. He talks with Karyn Hay about Russian disinformation flagged in a press release by the British government and about dangers to Aotearoa NZ.

“The British Government have put out an official press release headed "UK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propaganda" saying a troll factory is targeting politicians and baiting audiences across a number of countries including the UK, South Africa and India.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-exposes-sick-russian-troll-factory-plaguing-social-media-with-kremlin-propaganda

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/lately/audio/2018840319/10-25-russia-deploys-tiktok-trolls-to-spread-information-online

Today the British Government have put out an official press release saying a troll factory is targeting politicians and baiting audiences across a number of countries including the UK, South Africa and India.

25/04/2022

Excellent article highlighting why we must call for more action on disinformation. Russian propaganda is rife on social media and it needs to be tackled asap.

Why are Western conspiracy communities on Telegram promoting pro-Kremlin propaganda about the Russia-Ukraine war?

03/04/2022

In Episode 1 of Operation InfeKtion, we reveal how one of the biggest fake news stories ever concocted — the 1984 AIDS-is-a-biological-weapon hoax — went vir...

02/04/2022

How do people go down the rabbit hole and how do they get out? Great article with victims of disinformation speaking out.

Misinformation is widespread in Kiwi communities. Kristin Hall spoke to some who've fallen for it - and asked how they managed to break free.

24/03/2022

15/03/2022

When a gunman livestreamed his attack on Muslim worshippers, the prime minister vowed to make online safer. But are we focusing on the right problem?

07/03/2022

All the usual themes: Secret government alliances, anti-Semitic tropes, and nefarious scientists.

27/02/2022

A Wellington protester admits they’re a super-spreader — this is appalling!

12/02/2022

Beware of this so called news outlet “Daily Telegraph NZ” it’s Russian propaganda.

03/02/2022

More protests are being held around the motu tomorrow, if you wondered who they were all inspired by it was an alt-right group in Kassel, Germany.

When the “Convoy For Freedom” started here in Aotearoa we noticed that there was something very similar in how it was promoted and how the groups formed on telegram as other events around the globe. The group behind the “Worldwide Demonstrations” has on its website that it was started in Kassel, Germany. They have managed to influence protests to disrupt countries around the globe. The entire movement is steeped in conspiracies and the usual alt-right tactics.

An investigation by fact-checking organisation Logically showed that the World Wide Rally for Freedom, a wave of global anti-vax and anti-lockdown rallies were entirely astroturfed and coordinated by a small group from Kassel in Germany. The organization known as Freie Bürger Kassel (Free Citizens of Kassel) created and organized a wave of 129 simultaneous events and protests around the world on March 20, 2021, united under the banner of a “World Wide Rally for Freedom.” Additionally, at least 124 protests were scheduled for May 15, 2021.

For those monitoring COVID disinformation in early 2021, there was a notable addition to the parade of poorly photoshopped images of Bill Gates, fake medical messaging, and decontextualized pictures of various rashes attributed to vaccines. Sepia-toned, Instagram-friendly calls to action featuring landmarks from cities and countries across the globe. The images announced a “World Wide Rally for Freedom.” Along with this new global march, the images introduced the hashtag “ ” and discreetly included a link to a Telegram “hub” channel for the demonstrations.

The structure of this effort closely resembles that of the QAnon-adjacent Save Our Children and Freedom for the Children UK rallies whereby a centralized group would generate the event first, with a view to fill it with an admin and local organizer later. This led to scattershot marches united predominantly in anger and conspiratorial beliefs.

https://www.logically.ai/articles/anti-lockdown-protests-organized-by-german-cell

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australias-lockdown-demonstrations-show-how-quickly-local-protests-can-go-global/

21/01/2022

This is an important step in taking on the huge amount of anti-semitism rearing it’s ugly head again. Social media has been boosting hate and Holocaust denial during the pandemic and there’s hope this will push those companies to do more to address the harm their platforms are doing.

Social media companies are being urged “to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.”

14/01/2022

Trust the experts, not social media, mum says.

12/01/2022

14/12/2021

These doctors have finally been suspended after spreading harmful misinformation to their patients.

They've been accused of spreading COVID-19 and vaccine falsehoods.

11/12/2021

Voices For Freedom are sending followers after medical workers who are doing their utmost to protect people during the pandemic. This is not even dog-whistling its incitement and illegal. They’re using conspiracies that have been debunked many times in order to make people believe vaccines are dangerous to children, but its the opposite, the vaccines are proved to be safe and effective and Covid19 is the major issue for us and tamariki.

03/12/2021

Wow the Qanon anti-vax network as very dark ties!