Exposing Disinformation Aotearoa

02/03/2022

The disinformation propaganda machine and its peddlers are hard at work, lying and fabricating, distorting the pure hard facts of this historic moment. The confusion, fear, and anger palpable on the faces of those left on Wellington’s streets is already being twisted and used by those who stand to gain the most from an anti-vaccination, or anti-democracy, or alt-right agenda. They variously claim that fires were deliberately lit by police and that “Antifa activists” were planted in the crowd.

"This fight for our nation’s physical Parliament, along with the fight for people’s lives from Covid-19, is only the beginning. The misinformation pandemic is full steam ahead, and it’s fought in words, pictures, minds, and little hearts you can press on your smartphone. What’s the vaccination for that?

What version of this story are people going to be telling their kids, tonight?"

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300531054/parliament-protest-the-siege-might-be-over-but-the-propaganda-war-is-just-beginning

As soon as it ended, the hard facts of this historic moment were being twisted and used by those who stand to gain the most from an anti-vaccination, anti-democracy, or alt-right agenda.

02/03/2022

"While researchers and journalists have noted the toxicity of some of the politics on display, as well the presence of extreme fringe activists and groups, it should have come as little surprise.

These politics have been developing for some time, heavily influenced by the rise of a particular form of conspiratorial populism out of Donald Trump's America, and by the networking and misinformation possibilities of social media.

Internationally, researchers noted a decisive shift in 2015-16 and the subsequent exponential growth of extremist and vitriolic content online.

This intensified with the arrival of conspiracy movement QAnon in 2017 and the appearance of a number of alt-tech platforms that were designed to spread mis- and disinformation, conspiracy theories (old and new), and ultranationalism and racist views.

While local manifestations developed slowly, there was evidence that some groups and activists were beginning to realise the potential. The Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia embraced these new politics – white nationalism, distrust of perceived corrupt elites and media – along with the relatively sophisticated use of social media to influence and recruit."

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/03/the-extremism-visible-at-parliament-protest-has-been-growing-in-nz-for-years-is-enough-being-done.html?fbclid=IwAR3d7w1CUfqwq6JW4LwEgqzQXIc7WdWHmrzxWu513NTJF0wiZ9XTQ87ruRI

Researchers noted a decisive shift in 2015-16 and the subsequent exponential growth of extremist and vitriolic content online.

01/03/2022

"Peaceful protest".

Despite cries of “don’t push, hold the line”, the crowd yelled “heave” and pushed forward into a line of police officers.

25/02/2022

"The current occupation of parliament grounds has also seen disturbing references to Na**sm and the Holocaust. These have been variously deployed to call for the ex*****on of journalists and politicians, invoke the Nuremberg Code and compare vaccine mandates to the N**i persecution of the Jews.

Not only do such comparisons rest on false equivalences, absurd leaps of logic and historical anachronism, they are also tactics that tap into long histories of exploitation of the Holocaust for political ends."

The current occupation of Parliament grounds has seen disturbing references to Na**sm and the Holocaust, writes Giacomo Lichtner for The Conversation.

24/02/2022

Using footage from the Wellington protest, FACT Aotearoa show what is happening in Wellington in their own words. Denounce the hate.

WATCH: Using footage from the Wellington protest, FACT Aotearoa show what is happening in Wellington in their own words. Denounce the hate.

21/02/2022

Utterly priceless.

21/02/2022

Many of those at the Wellington protest are what one might call “useful idiots” – scared, naïve, New Zealanders who have been radicalised by dangerous alt-right misinformation feed to them while hunkered down in front of their computers screens during the last lockdown, sold a big lie that they’re somehow living under tyranny for the sole purpose of eroding collective trust in the government, in liberal democracy, even in consensus reality itself. The objective of alt-right misinformation, which is fuelling the so-called “freedom movement”, is to destroy democracy plain and simple. Those that spread misinformation, those who work tirelessly to erode community, social cohesion, those who hate truth, science, decency, justice, social equality, and democracy, need to be named. The government certainly need to do more to monitor and control misinformation, which has played an enormous role in what we are seeing playing out in Wellington.

The radicalisation process is gradual, slowing easing ordinary everyday mum-and-dad New Zealanders to ever more extreme ideas with coded yet highly suggestive rhetoric. Here’s an example, from everyone’s least favourite Auckland accountant and Z-grade Apprentice contestant, Jonathan Kennerley, the man behind the vile alt-right misinformation page Eyes Open New Zealand. I know I go on about this guy but seriously, dangerous alt-right liars like Jonathan Kennerley, whose page has some 32k followers, are a big part of the problem we’re now facing. Look at the language. “Escalating beautifully.” “Escalating” is a telling word, one that often occurs in conjunction with another, “violence.” Ask yourself: when one talks about escalation, what do we think things are escalating towards? Jonathan Kennerley is thirsty for the Wellington protest to escalate toward a Jan 6th style insurrection. That, ultimately, is the endgame. And he’s working hard to seed that idea, even if sublimely, in the minds of angry and scared New Zealanders.

21/02/2022

to all the protestors in wellington: look at the company you’re in. walk away, or just accept that you’re just as****es i guess — i mean, no-one took this sign down before this photo was taken, did they?

19/02/2022

What the “Freedom Convoys” Are Really About, And Why It Matters

19/02/2022

"Let’s call it for what it is. What we are witnessing here is the radicalisation of ordinary people – people who are becoming more extreme in their ideology, and in some cases, their behaviour.

Radicalisation doesn’t just happen to angry young men who spend too much time on the dark web. Here, radicalisation is taking place in broad daylight – on the front lawn of Parliament. No amount of guitar-strumming or bubble-blowing can mask that."

Even after this protest is over, it will only take a few individuals to blow on the embers that are already smouldering to lead to violent outcomes. We have seen this overseas.

OPINION: The last time I checked, New Zealand is one of the most free countries in the world.

19/02/2022

So here's Jonathan Kennerley, Auckland accountant at Kennerley and Co. tax preparation service and alt-right conspiracy theorist behind the pro-pandemic page Eyes Open New Zealand, re-sharing the thoughts of another profoundly stupid privileged white man also driven by a totally misplaced and frankly pathetic fear that what they take to be your rightful place at the top of the food chain is somehow under threat: Russell Coutts. It’s insecure man-children like Jonathan Kennerley and Coutts who are attempting to create and amplify an "them and us" society, not the other way around. That's what the protest is all about - WE HAVE OUR OWN ALTERNATIVE REALITY AND 'FACTS', WE DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR SOCIETY! Where to begin with Coutts’s dribble? The claim that the "mainstream media have received payment from the New Zealand government conditional on them promoting government policy, propaganda and spin" just repackages Trump's tired "fake news" bu****it. Coutts says "I believe in having the freedom to be able to question so-called 'expert' opinion". Cretinous. Health professionals know more about deadly virus that f**kin’ SAILORS. If a doctor tried to come on board his boat and tell him how to sail it on the basis that they have the 'freedom' to reject his expert sailor's opinion Coutts would straight up tell them to go f**k themselves. "It's the first time I've ever felt compelled to join a protest". Really? Straight up, Coutts doesn't give a s**t about protest regarding Maori land rights, Rainbow community rights, or the Black Lives Matter protest in Auckland last year. Nar, the only thing that gets him up in arms is somewhat confusing mask rules in restaurants. Pathetic. But the most telling, the most revealing statement in this whole inept dribble is "I'm against creating different rights, laws and privileges based on Race." Turns out, not entirely surprisingly (is there a whiter sport than sailing?), that Coutts is a bit of a racist too, profoundly lacking any understanding of the significance, intent, and importance of addressing the reality of historical and social inequalities. Because, you know, sailing is a sport for idle, rich, privileged white men. This is the most purest example of butt-hurt white privilege that I've seen in sometime. Russell Coutts the freedom fighter? Please, dude is rolling in cash and living the good life. Petulant and ridiculous.

From the legendary Sir Russell Coutts:

I'm heading to Wellington next week to join the protest. It's the first time I've ever felt compelled to join a protest.

I'm not anti-vaccine (I'm vaccinated) but I'm definitely against forced vaccinations.

I'm also strongly opposed to the ever increasing erosion of our human rights and the growing limitations on our freedom of choice. I believe in having the freedom to be able to question so-called "expert" opinion.

I'm against discrimination and the "them and us" society that is being promoted by our current political leaders.

I'm against creating different rights, laws and privileges based on Race.

I'm also against the irrational Covid rules that are currently being mandated in New Zealand, a few examples being:
- The 10 day quarantine that still remains for international travel.
- The absurd rules where our kids (vaccinated and unvaccinated) can sit in the same classroom and play sport together inside the school yard, yet are prohibited from playing sport together outside the school yard.
- The absurd rules that prohibit two young unvaccinated brothers, living in the same household, from sailing together in a sailing competition because they would be within two metres of each other while sailing their boat.
- The rules that require one to put on a mask to walk to and from the bathroom inside a restaurant when masks have already been removed while eating and drinking.
- The contradictory rules that allow unvaccinated people to take a domestic flight (with a negative Covid test) but prohibit a young unvaccinated kid from competing in their sport (outside school).
- The fact that our kids are forced to wear masks at school (even when it's well known that the surgical masks most of them are wearing are highly ineffective).

Finally and perhaps most important, I'm against the fact that some of our mainstream media have received payment from the New Zealand government conditional on them promoting government policy, propaganda and spin.

So yes, I'll be joining the protest in Wellington.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=502949084521812&id=100044201750934

19/02/2022

The anti-mandate protests in Wellington and around the country have also contained a strong anti-media sentiment with reporters abused and threatened.

14/02/2022

OK, so once again here's Jonathan Kennerley, an Auckland accountant at Kennerley and Co. tax preparation service and alt-right conspiracy theorist behind the pro-pandemic page Eyes Open New Zealand, posting in open support of the pro-pandemic and anti-democratic protest outside Parliament. Jonathan Kennerley himself of course would never slum it in a tent on Parliament lawn himself amid all the wet hay and human excrement - like any true "freedom fighter" he's waaaaaaaay to comfortable spreading far right lies from behind his lap top in his beautiful spacious modern villa in Central Auckland. Grass roots movement? Nar. Again, this protest – like others abroad – is backed by foreign alt-right extremists and wealthy far-right libertarians who are intent on fraying social cohesion and destabilizing our liberal democracy. People like Jonathan Kennerley want to destroy democracy, and are intent on radicalizing ordinary middle class New Zealanders to the alt right via misinformation pages like Eyes Open New Zealand. The endgame is to clear the way for the emergence of Fascism and the re-entrenchment of social inequalities and power structures that would see idle and ignorant rich white men like Jonathan Kennerley re-instated in their supposed ‘rightful place’ at the top of the food chain. Absolutely nuttin' to do with "the people" or "freedom".

14/02/2022

The conservative media has painted the anti-vaxx Canadian trucker convoy as a grassroots blue-collar movement, but the group is actually one backed by alt-right extremists and political grifters

14/02/2022

Important article on the ongoing anti-mandate protest at Parliament and the role played by misinformation in its formation.

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/hijacked-the-inside-story-of-how-nzs-convoy-lost-its-rudder?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0-ANp4Ar3x3_BYNDRrZ3XV4yS6ycfM8jspU4VRbqNqwELlq6MLVi9L00c =1644601084

Days of encrypted chats reveal the inside story of how New Zealand's convoy was hijacked by the far-right fringe.

10/02/2022

"New Zealand’s civic society has made no serious attempt to understand or regulate these rivers of hatred and misinformation. Other democratic countries are stumbling around trying to regulate and control the social media platforms and the algorithms. We have done nothing.

If anything, the problem has been enabled by both sides of politics here. They have enthusiastically adopted Facebook’s ability to communicate directly with voters, free of the usual gatekeepers in the mainstream media. The government has made Facebook Live a semi-official tool to distribute official information and engage with the public. Government departments employ hundreds of social media specialists and spend tens of millions of dollars on Facebook and Google advertising. On occasion, the government has even partnered with them on technology investment projects. There has been no serious attempt to try to control the spread of this misinformation and the use of these platforms to organise threats to our national security.

Even after the Christchurch attacks, little was done to protect our national security and health from these sources of disinformation. Initially, the PM rightly condemned Facebook and Google for enabling and allowing a domestic terrorist to amplify the terror attack on their platforms. But that was as far as it went. The Christchurch Call has dissolved into a Davos-style talkfest for world leaders and tech execs to avoid regulation or any meaningful change whatsoever."

Politicians and police have been remarkably tolerant of these threats to our safety. But they have to act.

09/02/2022

So, here's Jonathan Kennerley, an Auckland accountant at Kennerley and Co. tax preparation service and alt-right conspiracy theorist behind the pro-pandemic page Eyes Open New Zealand, posting in open support of the violent pro-pandemic protest currently underway in Wellington.

09/02/2022

07/02/2022

So the hilariously inept pro-pandemic Convoy was hit a few snags. Surprise surprise. The 'freedumb' fighters were left confused again following deliberate disruptions to their social media channels that resulted in botched travel plans and meet-ups. Oh well.

"Not only were social media groups infiltrated, but a Spotify playlist the convoy organisers made for others to add 'good tunes to drive to' was taken over by people who opposed the protesters.

"Some people are adding some really disgusting music (don't think you can call it music). I'm guessing [it's] people that don't agree with the convoy because they have nothing better to do," one person said.

Songs that were added by those opposing the convoy included 'Redneck Piece of White Trash' by Rebel Son, 'Why Don't You Get A Job' by The Offspring, and 'Dumb F**k' by Peaches."

Priceless!

Multiple social media channels were flooded - and even a Spotify playlist was infiltrated by people opposing the protestors.

13/12/2021

Long but excellent discussion looking at how alt-right Bannonism-Trumpism ideology is seeking to take root here in Aotearoa New Zealand, amplified via disinformation spreaders such as The Freedoms & Rights Coalition, Jonathan Kennerley ‘s Eyes Open New Zealand, and Steve Bannon’s own Counterspin.

A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will deep-dive into how Aotearoa New Zealand is in the cross-hairs o...

07/12/2021

Important article on where we’re at right now, sadly, in Aotearoa. It’s been incredibly disheartening to witness the spike in dangerous disinformation and Covid-19 conspiracy theories over the last 3 months, as a distinctly American brand of alt-right ‘freedom’ rhetoric has essentially begun to colonize and transform our social discourse. This is not who we are Aotearoa. We urgently need to find ways to deal with disinformation spreaders such as The Freedoms & Rights Coalition, Jonathan Kennerley ‘s Eyes Open New Zealand, and Steve Bannon’s Counterspin, who all work to create division and sow hate in order to destroy our liberal democracy.

Government documents reveal officials are increasingly alarmed by the seriousness of threats - and grasping for ideas on how to address the problem.

03/12/2021

White supremacists, like Steve Bannon and his CounterSpin Media, are similarly spreading American-style alt-right anti-vaxx “freedom” disinformation here in Aotearoa, with similarly detrimental effects upon vulnerable Maori communities, among others. Groups such as the Freedom & Rights Coalition, and social media pages like Jonathan Kennerley’s Eyes Open New Zealand are not merely singing from the same song-sheet – they’re walking in lockstep to their decree.

West Australian premier warns of targeted misinformation campaign.

29/11/2021

While many of far-right anti-fact pro-pandemic disinformation peddlers hard at work undermining our liberal democracy here in Aotearoa are fairly well known, others has thus far avoided attention, spreading a pernicious alt-right Bannonism-Trumpism ideology while striving to maintain a consequence-free anonymity. One such individual is Jonathan Kennerley, an Auckland accountant at Kennerley and Co. tax preparation service and far-right conspiracy theorist. As “Debunking Conspiracies Aotearoa” recently demonstrated, Jonathan Kennerley is behind the popular anti-fact pro-pandemic page Eyes Open New Zealand which spreads disinformation regarding Covid-19 in order to undermine public health measures designed to keep people safe. Jonathan Kennerley initially attempted to launch Eyes Open New Zealand on YouTube, uploading a number of cretinous pro-pandemic rants before concentrating his efforts on his page. Most of the early posts on Eyes Open New Zealand were verbatim re-posts from his personal account, whose settings at the time were public.

Despite supporting so-called “freedom movement” groups such as the Freedom and Rights Coalition, Jonathan Kennerley’s purpose in creating the Eyes Open New Zealand page is not solely or even in part about protecting people’s freedoms. By his own admission, Jonathan Kennerley doesn’t care about other people (only his immediate family). Rather, the Covid-19 crisis presents people like Jonathan Kennerley with an opportunity. While some exploit the current public health crisis and deploy disinformation for profit (e.g. social media influencers hawking fake Covid-19 remedies), Jonathan Kennerley’s aim is to capitalize on and exacerbate social unrest and resentment toward the government, in order to, ultimately, destroy our liberal democracy. And as an alt-right American-style conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter (who promoted the false claims of electoral fraud in the 2020 US presidential election on his personal page) there can be no ambiguity about what kind of political structure Jonathan Kennerly wants to rise up in its place – a populist white Nationalism.

28/11/2021

Very concerning developments. The American far-right is attempting in indoctrinate and radicalize our people, via "freedom rhetoric", to embrace a movement fundamentally tied to white supremacy.

Covid vaccine disinformation from the U.S. and elsewhere is being used as a 'trojan horse' to coax people in New Zealand to embrace far right ideologies.

09/11/2021

Important read:

“Since 17 August 2021, when Aotearoa New Zealand’s Delta outbreak meant a shift into Covid-19 Alert Level 4 across the country, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity and intensity of Covid-19-specific disinformation and other forms of ‘dangerous speech’ and disinformation, related to far-right ideologies. Over the past twelve weeks, The Disinformation Project monitored this material, observing key trends and analysing impact. This brief working paper introduces some of our key findings so far on the infodemic – around engagement, content, reception to the Covid-19 vaccine, language, approaches employed, and targeted groups.
The ecologies and spread of mis- and disinformation point to a broader threat: that Covid-19 and vaccination are being used as a kind of Trojan Horse for norm-setting and norm-entrenchment of far-right ideologies in Aotearoa New Zealand. Such ideologies include, but are not limited to, ideas about gun control, anti-Māori sentiment, anti- LGBTQIA+, conservative ideals around family and family structure, misogyny, and anti- immigration. Mis- and disinformation and ‘dangerous speech’ pose significant threats to social cohesion, freedom of expression, inclusion, and safety.”

Mis- and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand COVID-19 9 November 2021 Since February 2020 a small interdisciplinary team, The Disinformation Project, has been observing and analysing open source, publicly available data related to Covid-19 mis- and disinformation on social media, mainstream media...

08/11/2021

'Freedom' protestors are already massing outside the Beehive today, as the Freedoms & Rights Coalition continues its boneheaded crusade against the Government's public health measures designed simply to keep people safe. The post below highlights the increasing inflammatory and highly charged rhetoric being used to promote this event (i.e. "9/11 for Ardern & the Labour Government"). The irony is that while groups like the Freedoms & Rights Coalition call for "unity" and claim the government is using "divide and conquer" tactics they in fact are the one using divisive language and tactics to tear-part social cohesion and unity when it is needed the most.

08/11/2021

Essential reading for all those deeply concerned about the recent surge in conspiracy theories and alt-right anti-vaxx sentiment here in Aotearoa.

QAnon ignited an idiocy & belief system that refuses to go away - and some kiwis are still swallowing it whole