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How They Manipulate You

Nothing is simple these days - and as much as we want to believe that news media just tells us the facts, that every party and politician has the same chance of being elected if they just try really hard, and that eople know what's going on around them, the reality is very different. So we've produced some explainers to help educate voters in 2026. Using the latest in academic research from experts around the world, looking at Aotearoa New Zealand specific contextual elements and years of data points, we've created explainers designed to showcase just how manipulative some bad faith actors are when it comes to getting your vote. Learn about the machinery of the right wing pressure group, learn how a variety of tools and methods are used to make you think exactly what these groups and politicians want you to think and some of the truly awful negative outcomes this can lead to.

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How the Right Wing Stole Our Media

From dedicated think tanks that pump out media to deliberatly purchasing controversial adveritisng to get free coverage - the Right Wing has a thick playbook of tricks it uses to manipulate the public and media

The Reason You're So Angry

It's deliberate, it's calculated and it's part of the process to make you feel that the only way to fix the world is to yell at it and vote for the parties that tell you than will fix it.

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The Propaganda model in aonz

In the 1980s, Herman and Chomsky identified 5 influences that impact how we are presented news throughout the day - and in 2025, we can still see those influences at play, even in the age of social media.

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The Media users handbook

All media is open to manipulation, and some players are far better at it than others. Learn a bit about the tricks, tools and methods that are used to manipulate you and those around you.

who can you trust in media?

All media has a bias, which is different to all media not being truthful or accurate - but some have a clear bias and a history of inaccuracies - so which media outlets are the ones with the worst track record on honesty, integrity and upholding journalistic and broadcasting standards?

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How Facebook Content Leans Right

60% of Kiwis get news from Facebook - meaning how news is delivered there is a huge influence on how audiences interpret the world around them.
How Media is built will help you see how media bias is positioned. Who gets platformed the most in the most prominent places? What do readers actually read? What language is used to describe events and Parties - all of this feeds into our bias.
Media Theory 101
Learn more about the ways media is used to control narratives, legitimise the partisan views of the world and manipulate us.
learn more
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