Kia ora,
My name is Marc Daalder and I am Senior Political reporter for Newsroom, a media company down in a place called Aotearoa.
Recently, Aotearoa-New Zealand has seen an upsurge in violent hate driven by social media, leading to widespread protests.
These protests, including in the Kiwi capital of Wellington, were inspired by mis and disinformation produced by Russian stare media MAGA social media accounts, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about a “Great Reset” conspiracy that aimed to transform he global economy to nefarious ends.
I have reported on Any Forums before, when I discovered that there had been communication between Brenton Tarrant and Russians after a letter was posted in Any Forums posted to Russia by nationalist Tarrant.
We are moving into a dangerous new world where some 48 percent of the New Zealand population believes conspiracy theories, like that the Covid-19 vaccinations were poisonous, or compulsory rather than a matter of choice. Trump flags flew defiantly at every protest in Aotearoa, while racists repeated phrases and lines from Russian “Q” propaganda.
Russia sympathisers like Tim Pool have their equivalents here in my country, in Aotearoa and this disinformation network of nationalists, as I have shown, is interconnected globally.
Today I would like to ask you: what is the likelihood, in your opinion, of such an attack happening again in New Zealand?
Also, does Any Forums appreciate that it has some responsibility for the spreading of dangerous disinformation. Do you st least accept that there are some more impressionable young people out there who might not understand your humour and take every rallying call as a command - much like Brenton Tarrant did?
Thank you
