No shops, no launches – but the NZ book scene is finding new ways to reach people under lockdown

Books editor Catherine Woulfe takes an energising walk around the lockdown block of New Zealand books.  When the bubbles settled over us they settled over the books too. Libraries were the first to shut down, then the physical bookstores and finally, the hammer blow: online sales and indeed any notion of benevolently posting books about … Read more

Bushfires, bots and Twitter trolls: How the #ArsonEmergency hashtag took hold

As Australia came to terms with the fact that climate change is fuelling its bushfires, deniers began a rearguard action centred around claims that arson, not climate, is to blame. Media analysts Timothy Graham and Tobias Keller look at how bots and troll accounts tried to shift the conversation. In the first week of 2020, … Read more

Facebook and Stuff are allowing racism to flourish on their platforms

The People’s Harassment Report, a study undertaken by ActionStation and UMR, found one in three Māori online faced racial abuse in 2018. Here we look a bit closer at the methodology of the research.  From August to October 2018, ActionStation ran a pilot project called Tauiwi Tautoko where 20 volunteers were trained and supported to … Read more

The Bulletin: Harness racing rocked by raids

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Harness racing rocked by police raids, reporter detained in Nauru, and former Māori Party co-leader deep in debt.  Multiple properties relating to harness racing have been raided by police, amid a sting action against alleged race fixing, reports Stuff. Police have long been investigation the industry, and following … Read more