David Harvey: Reading Between the Lines

How the Human Rights Commission’s Trojan Horse Deepfake Submission Smuggles In a Regime of Pre-Emptive Speech Control

The gift at the gate

The Greeks did not take Troy by force. They took it by leaving a gift the defenders could not bring themselves to refuse — and by hiding inside it the army that would do the actual work. The Human Rights Commission’s submission on the Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill follows the same design.

Pee Kay: The Waitangi Tribunal also emerged as the most trusted source of accurate information about Te Tiriti

This article by the Human Rights Commission perfectly illustrates how phrasing questions is so important when aiming for a desired outcome in a poll!

The phrasing of a poll question is a critical factor that can significantly influence, guide, and determine the answers provided by poll respondents. Small and deliberate changes in wording will sway data, leading to different interpretations of how people feel about an issue but more importantly, what the poll results show!

Cam Slater: Big Tobacco, and a Push for Monopoly Profits.....

Exposed: The Hypocritical Nexus Between Otago University Academics and Big Tobacco, and a Push for Monopoly Profits in New Zealand’s Tobacco Wars

This leak exposes a rotten core in New Zealand’s tobacco control scene, where hypocrisy reigns and public health takes a back seat to agendas.

Yvonne van Dongen: Is the Human Rights Commission Fit for Purpose?

Stephen Rainbow’s appointment as Human Rights Commissioner in August last year was widely regarded as contentious by trans activists who accused him of anti-trans views.

Despite the fact that close scrutiny of his social media posts failed to unearth any damning evidence to support this claim, the selection panel did not recommend him for the role. It was Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith who advocated for his appointment.