The racist and untrue rumour about the source of the latest Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand began life as a much less inflammatory post on Reddit. It was deleted after a few hours, but the damage was done. Here, the man who started the rumour speaks for the first time. Last week, when a cluster … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Border closed to all non-NZers with limited exceptions, facing the economic implications of that decision, and new rules on gatherings released. As of midnight last night, the border of New Zealand is closed to those who aren’t permanent residents or citizens, with very limited exceptions. In … Read more
How to explain the way the story around the prime minister’s partner exploded? Danyl Mclauchlan counts the ways As a National Party smear campaign As far as the Labour Party is concerned: they’ve been here before. Last time Labour were in government a group of National Party activists and their fellow travellers on the right … Read more
Yesterday’s bombshell story about a story that wasn’t a story has sent shockwaves through the reckons machine. At least four news organisations have over recent months been following up on the malevolent bullshit being peddled about Jacinda Ardern’s boyfriend Clarke Gayford by anonymous cretins on the internet – but no one was publishing them because … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Meth pamphlet at high school sparks furious debate, historical police inaction on sexual assault revealed, and NZ misses out on steel tariff exemption. Massey High School in Auckland has come under fire, for distributing a meth education pamphlet that some parents believe condones drug use. The NZ Herald reports … Read more
Whether to report on the false rumours about the prime minister’s partner created a quandary for the media. Could they report on slurs designed to do damage without amplifying the effect of them and playing into the hands of the rumour-mongers? Colin Peacock of RNZ’s Mediawatch programme looks at how they responded. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responding to … Read more
The Herald has reported that untrue things are being said about Jacinda Ardern’s partner. Here’s what we know so far. Everyone in media and political circles, Steve Braunias notwithstanding, has been gasbagging like mad over the last month about rumours related to Clarke Gayford, the partner of the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Most of these … Read more