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Working paper: Transgressive transitions
Friday, 5 May 2023: Independent research group The Disinformation Project has today released evidence that hatred towards transgender people in Aotearoa New Zealand has increased significantly this year.
A new working paper titled ‘Transgressive transitions; Transphobia, community building, and community bridging within Aotearoa New Zealand’s disinformation ecologies March-April 2023’ outlines a measurable rise in both volume and tone of transphobia, as well as evidence of foreign interference in New Zealand online communities.
“The type of language and imagery we’re seeing is significantly more violent, including repeated use of language that denies that trans people exist, or that they should be allowed to exist,” said Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa, Research Fellow at The Disinformation Project.
The researchers saw specific tactics which suggested foreign influence and interference were being used to help this increase in violence. Utilising disinformation narrative techniques including, but not limited to rage-baiting, performative outrage, emotional contagions, inflammatory presentations, aggrieved frames, and dangerous speech, the rapid, continuous, and repetitive content production we observe in Aotearoa New Zealand’s disinformation ecologies mimics or is modelled on Russian propaganda techniques.
From 22 March 2023 onwards, Australian, and international far right and explicitly neo-Nazi content was shared and promoted on Aotearoa New Zealand Telegram channels at levels The Disinformation Project had never previously observed. However, this also took place on Telegram channels where the influence of a small but prolific number of New Zealand’s neo-Nazi and far-right community members has become significant.
The scope of the research included the social media landscape of disinformation producers, narrators, and audiences in Aotearoa New Zealand, starting from those spaces which were expressing Covid-19 minimisation or denial in 2020.
They discovered that anti-trans content quickly became the key talking point in these networks due to a tactic called ‘community bridging’, where one set of ideas is bridged into a community that doesn’t yet hold those ideas.
“This is bridging between extremist ideas is really concerning, as it makes the spread of further harmful ideologies possible. For example, explicitly Neo-Nazi content has been shared in New Zealand-based social media spaces, and these groups and individuals were more active in social media during our research period”, said Kate Hannah, Founder, and Director of The Disinformation Project.
Access the full working paper here.
Download media pack here.
Summary of research findings
Harm to trans people has increased:
- Harm and hate towards transgender and non-binary people in Aotearoa measurably increased in both volume and tone during the period 18 March – mid-April 2023. This corresponded with the tour of UK-based anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull.
- The type of language and imagery used is significantly more violent, including repeated use of language that denies that trans people exist, or that they should be allowed to exist.
- Denying a group’s existence and their right to exist are both signs of the language of genocide.
Foreign influence is evident:
- Over the same time period, we saw specific tactics suggesting foreign influence and interference being used to help this increase in violence.
- Neo-Nazi and far-right content and narrators rapidly emerged as the dominant narrative signature across domestic Telegram discourse – with content imported from foreign neo-Nazi channels at a pace never before studied, which we can state, with a high level of confidence, did not previously exist to this extent within our location of study.
Far-right activity has been bolstered:
- Explicitly neo-Nazi and far-right content, individuals, and groups have been shared in New Zealand-based social media spaces.
- White nationalist groups and individuals were more active in social media during this time period.
Existing disinformation groups are taking up trans hate:
- Key proponents of disinformation kept the story going longer and used connecting existing audiences to anti-trans narratives to grow engagement and followers.
- Anti-trans content quickly became the key talking point due to a tactic called ‘community bridging’, where one set of ideas is bridged into a community that doesn’t yet hold those ideas.
- This is achieved through stories which connect the new idea to shared ideas within the community being bridged into. Our research showed topics relating to children were the bridging mechanisms.
- This has created a bonding effect around the idea of threats to women and children.
Disinformation networks are extremist, and may be getting worse:
- New Zealand’s far-right and Neo-Nazi groups and individuals have been using Covid-19 disinformation to broaden their community of followers. Now they are able to overtly communicate extremist ideas within the New Zealand disinformation community.
- These patterns are still emerging, but the tactical sophistication, including successful efforts from foreign influence, makes the bridging of further (more extreme) ideologies possible.
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Dangerous speech, misogyny, and democracy
Dangerous speech, misogyny, and democracy: A review of the impacts of dangerous speech since the end of the Parliament Protest
Kayli Taylor, Kate Hannah, Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa
This paper analyses the impacts of dangerous speech, particularly misogyny, from March 2022 to August 2022. The Disinformation Project (TDP) analyses misinformation and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since April 2022, we have become particularly concerned about the rise of violent misogyny online and the way it impacts women’s willingness to participate in public life. This paper explores the trends of rising misogyny, the impact of dangerous speech on communities and individuals, and the way various intersections of identity impact people’s experiences of online harassment and hate.
Since we sent this paper to a limited mailing list of MPs in August 2022, misogyny has continued to grow, unmoderated by platforms. TDP continues to bear witness to the rise of violent misogyny on domestic mis- and disinformation ecologies. The consequences of this misogyny should not be underestimated – and require legislative and social change.
Download the paper here.
Image credit: Body Image #2, by Holly Atkins from City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, via BBC.
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Eroded information ecologies: Social cohesion, trust, and the impact of misinformation
Speech by Kate Hannah, Director, The Disinformation Project, delivered at New Zealand International Science Festival (NanoFest) 2022, on 14 July 2022.
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E aku manukura
Mihi mai, mihi mai
E mihi atu nei ki tenei hui e ki ngā Rangatira mā
Tēna koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Kate Hannah ahau
Kia ora koutou katoa, Ko Kate Hannah ahau.
Eroded information ecologies: social cohesion, trust, and the impact of misinformation
At the conclusion of the 23-day occupation of Parliament Grounds in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Prime Minister stated:
“One day it will be our job to try and understand how a group of people could succumb to such wild and dangerous mis- and disinformation. And while many of us have seen that disinformation and dismissed it as conspiracy theory, a small portion of our society have not only believed it, they have acted upon it in an extreme and violent way that cannot stand. We have a difficult journey in front of us to address the underlying cause of what we have seen here today.[1]”
Here at the Disinformation Project, we have been observing the effects of disinformation and misinformation in Aotearoa since February 2020 and can offer some insight now into how mis- and disinformation operate, how they interact with existing inequities and information voids, and the ways in which the compelling nature of some of the most popular disinformation narratives presents critical challenges for Aotearoa New Zealand. Here tonight I am interested mainly in exploring what this means for us as whānau, communities – a country – as we examine our shared information landscape. While sadly that which we might wish to dismiss as conspiracy is having an effect on our social and political spaces, and particularly our shared understanding of the state, democracy, and citizenship, there are, as always, things that we can do individually and collectively to mitigate these effects.
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Hate speech in Aotearoa New Zealand: Reflecting and resisting
By Kayli Taylor
Content warning: This piece discusses violence against the LGBTQ+ community, including the recent incident against Rainbow Youth in Tauranga. It also discusses violence of a sexual nature, including threats of rape.
Today, June 18th, is the United Nations inaugural International Day for Countering Hate Speech – building on what the institution has highlighted as the growing international issue of hate speech, its incitement of violence, and impacts on social cohesion. The United Nations defines hate speech as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are.” Hate speech is increasingly a threat to Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly within the Covid-19 pandemic, and our social cohesion. Hate speech, both its online presence and offline consequences, deserves greater reflection and resistance, as we navigate and counter growing information disorders.
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Working Paper: The murmuration of information disorders
Aotearoa New Zealand’s mis- and disinformation ecologies and the Parliament Protest
The Disinformation Project is pleased to release a new working paper discussing the occupation of Parliament grounds from February 2022 – March 2022. Download it here.
The Disinformation Project is an independent research group studying misinformation and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since February 2020, we have used mixed methods approaches to analyse and review the seed and spread of information disorders – and their impact on the lives of New Zealanders.
Aotearoa New Zealand is experiencing an infodemic, where the Covid-19 pandemic furthered the spread of misinformation and disinformation, impacting social cohesion and over the longer term, the country’s democratic fabric and electoral integrity. We help social media companies, journalists, academia, policymakers, and civil society to identify, understand, unpack and meaningfully respond to information disorders.
The Parliament Protest was a significant online and offline event in Aotearoa New Zealand. Offline, it’s physical presence captured the attention of the nation and fuelled debates about ideas of legitimate protest in Aotearoa New Zealand. Online, its data signatures showed never-seen-before popularity with misinformation, disinformation, and extremist thought.
In this working paper, which builds on research released last year on the spread of misinformation and disinformation from August 2021 – November 2021, The Disinformation Project explores the role misinformation and disinformation played in the nurture and nature of the protest on Parliament grounds. The new working paper also explores how the protest was projected on social media, disinformation and misinformation ecologies associated with it, and lasting impacts on social cohesion, identity, and democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“The Parliament Protest was a turning point in the way Aotearoa New Zealand perceives itself, and the role of misinformation and disinformation in that shift cannot be underestimated. From violative vocabulary to pace of content production, we are now studying information disorders at a scale and scope beyond what we studied at the start of 2022.” – Kate Hannah, Director of The Disinformation Project.
“Data signatures associated with the protest on social media, pegged to misinformation and disinformation, had no historical precedent. It is a tectonic shift in Aotearoa New Zealand’s media landscapes, and information ecologies. What we studied will have a significant and lasting impact on the country’s democratic institutions, including electoral integrity.” – Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa, Research Fellow at The Disinformation Project.
For media and other inquiries, please email info {at} thedisinfoproject {dot} org. Download this press release as a PDF here.
Featured image: Fake News, by Jamila Hall from Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College, Leeds, via BBC.
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Nau mai, haere mai & Welcome
Welcome to The Disinformation Project’s website.
The Disinformation Project is an independent research group studying misinformation and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since February 2020, we have used mixed methods approaches to analyse and review the seed and spread of information disorders – and their impact on the lives of New Zealanders.
Find out more about us, access our output, read about our work in the media, and feel free to contact us.
Featured image: The Web – Friend or Foe? by Eesa Hussain from Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham, via BBC.
The Disinformation Project
Studying information disorder ecologies
