Navigating the propaganda firehose

Don't pointlessly expend time and energy

On Monday, I outlined the various forms that the orchestrated and targeted attack will likely take while the Treaty Principles Bill is in Select Committe the next six months:

• a firehose of memes, half-truths and lies, and easily shareable soundbites flooding social media.

• an endless number of astroturf accounts and bots commenting online across every instance of key words and hashtags, repeating carefully workshopped lines ad nauseum.

• enormous amounts of (paid) airtime for ACT and Bill supporters on media and news sites to share their ideas, make it all sound Extremely Reasonable, and to herd the wider public to agree with their ideas.

• a never-ending supply of opinion pieces across print and online media, all expressing support for the Treaty Principles Bill (while simultaneously attempting to distance themselves from ACT per se).

Keep an eye out too for targeted nastiness at Te Pati Māori; anything and everything that undermines and maligns the party and their MP’s. Watch out for sneers and dismissive comments about Māori. Note who is Being Very Reasonable and yet their ideas and posts always end up supporting the ideas of ACT.

So. How to respond? Some suggestions from me as follows:

Avoid engaging with bad faith actors, bots, or astroturf accounts

Do your best not to engage with bad faith actors, bots, or astroturf accounts. This can be hard! These users are designed to fruitlessly soak up your attention, your time, and your energy - leaving you depleted and feeling hopeless.

If you must engage on social media, either like in support or drop a comment and then … walk away. Don’t get drawn into pointless arguments or engagements that only serve to provide a platform for anti-Māori, anti-Tiriti, or anti-Indigenous sentiment.

Another tactic is to poke fun at the original poster or drop a clever and dismissive witticism. I’m not so good with those, so I tend to Name and Block, commenting “Hey, it’s a bot! Bye bye now” or similar and then block the user. This prevents them from using my platform to spread their propaganda and has the added bonus of keeping my timeline/feed clear of rubbish.

How do you know if it’s a bad faith actor, bot, or astroturf account? They repeat the same tired lines, don’t follow you but pop up in your mentions on certain topics, don’t engage otherwise, and/or have profiles associated with far-right images and content. Comments proliferating overnight (as NZ is asleep but the Northern Hemisphere awakens) is also another giveaway.

Interacting online can be useful - but it can also be a time-suck and achieve little. Stick to your script, keep it positive, don’t get drawn into time-consuming and pointless arguments.

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Share aligned content that is on the kaupapa

Clever propaganda is designed to be shareable by the opposition - to make fun of it, sneer at it, or otherwise give it a hard time. This increases the reach of it! I know, it’s hard. It is so tempting! But all it does is amplify the oppositions messages and voices.

Instead, commit to only sharing content that is aligned with the kaupapa. Share the positive messaging, the uplifting content, and/or ideas that align with who you are. There are plenty of excellent Tiriti resources and content around. Here is an extremely short list to get you started:

Community Research has a Podcast series: Te Tiriti 2024 and beyond. This series of thought-provoking conversations offers candid and insightful kōrero to deepen people’s comprehension of how Te Tiriti o Waitangi has shaped our nation.

Dr Veronica Tawhai, a leading figure in Tiriti education and indigenous rights advocacy, has some highly shareable moments in her M9 speaker series:

Te Tiriti is Us is a Pākehā-based not-for-profit project encouraging people to consider Te Tiriti and the partnership it created as a crucial part of our history, our democracy, and our identity. They have some great poster printables by artist Amber Smith:

Similarly, Together for Te Tiriti has gathered a selection of helpful resources to assist with learning more about Te Tiriti. From understanding the Principles of Te Tiriti to the potential for constitutional transformation, there is a raft of useful links. You may have seen their placards at the hīkoi:

For those of the Christian faith, Common Grace Aotearoa have a section on Te Tiriti justice actions and resources. Their approach is inspired by the work of Matike Mai Aotearoa, and a clear commitment to working towards that vision.

Network Waitangi Ōtautahi have a wide range of resources focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its effects on Aotearoa today. Their curated list is separated into videos, documents and audio files so people can choose the format that works for them.

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Become familiar with techniques to combat mis- and dis-information

These techniques are super useful. The Workshop has some great resources and runs in-depth courses on effective ways to respond. Their adaptation of George Lakoff's Truth Sandwich (an alternative to fact checking) is pretty great too. This sandwiches false information between shared values and reliable information:

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Prioritise in person interactions

I love being online! I have met some amazing, incredible people online, and it has been a way for me to stay connected with family and friends. I won’t be leaving the online space anytime soon. However, as we move into this new cultural milieu of bots and astroturfing, online communities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to mis- and dis-information and to the propaganda ‘fire hose’.

Sharing your perspective in person is more effective at inoculating people against online misinformation than online arguments are. There is something about in person conversations that ‘sticks’ and shifts thinking.

Meeting and talking with others in person strengthens relationships, builds connection, and makes communities less vulnerable to propaganda techniques.

Shared meals, community activities, having a coffee, all of these create spaces for people to talk and to listen.

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Nourish your mauri (life force).

This is a long game. We will burn ourselves out if we don’t take the time we need to restore and refresh our inner selves. Take time away from the coal face to rest and rejuvenate. (Yes, I am terrible at this! But I too am learning that rest is resistance).

Remember that this kaupapa is about being good ancestors and creating a future for the children who are yet to come. Keep your life force healthy and well (Artistic endeavours are excellent for this! Highly recommend!)

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Keep on keeping on

You are doing amazing. Keep up the good work. Resisting the dominant ideas of individualism, market forces, low taxes, and unfettered capitalism is hard work. Unpicking the insidiousness of neoliberalism takes time and persistence. We are all muddling along, best we can. Keep going when and where you can. Be kind to yourself and others on the kaupapa.

What else? Do you have other ideas and suggestions? Drop them into the comments.