Facebook takes down Advance New Zealand’s page

Election 2020

Facebook has taken down the Facebook page of the conspiracy theory-driven Advance New Zealand Party, Marc Daalder reports

The conspiracy theory-driven Advance New Zealand Party has had its Facebook page taken down by the social media giant just two days before election day.

A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement that it took down the page for repeatedly sharing “misinformation […] about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm”.

“We don’t allow anyone to share misinformation on our platforms about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm. We have clear policies against this type of content and will enforce on these policies regardless of anyone’s political position or party affiliation. We removed Advance New Zealand / New Zealand Public Party’s Facebook Page for repeated violations of this policy,” the spokesperson said.

Facebook pays special attention to misinformation that could make people more likely to get sick or not get treatment. That includes false claims about cures or health measures and those which discourage seeking treatment. False claims that 5G causes symptoms or infection with Covid-19 are also subject to removal.

Party co-leader Billy Te Kahika Jr. was in the midst of a Facebook live on the page when it went down. In a subsequent live video from his personal page, Te Kahika Jr. said he had received warning from a media organisation that Facebook was about to take the page down.

He also falsely claimed that Facebook had been the recipient of some of the $50 million support package for domestic media organisations.

In a statement, Te Kahika Jr. denounced the move as “election interference”.

“This is a blatant example of election interference by an American owned social media outlet that has no business performing any such operation in our sovereign nation,” he said.

Te Kahika Jr. has previously falsely alleged that Covid-19 is a 5G-related bioweapon and that there is a secret cabal that controls central banks and wants to reduce the world’s population. Earlier this week, Stuff reported that Te Kahika Jr. believes “the Jews are responsible for all the world’s troubles” and “Zionists” control the banks. He has publicly espoused the Rothschild conspiracy theory and the belief that Jews killed Jesus.

On Thursday morning, the Advertising Standards Authority instructed Advance New Zealand to remove a “misleading” advertisement which falsely claimed that it is mandatory to receive vaccinations. The party had previously made the same claim in a misleadingly cut video and was reprimanded by Parliament.

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