A researcher says Māori will be the ones who suffer most at the hands of disinformation peddled among opposition to Covid-19 public health measures.
Te Pūnaha Matatini research fellow Kate Hannah is leading a project investigating misinformation and Covid-19.
Thousands of people gathered at Parliament grounds in Wellington for an anti-lockdown and anti vaccination protest ealier today.
She told Midday Report today's protest was being framed as a 9/11 moment for the government by the event's organisers.
But there has been appropriation of tino rangatiratanga language and imagery which is largely being pushed by non-Māori, Hannah says.
"They have moved beyond simply resistance to the public health measures ... What we're seeing now is a protest not really about Covid-19 but it's about the role of the state."
There are many different groups drawn by different reasons, but the protest has morphed into one about the powers of the state, Hannah says.
See today's Covid-19 updates as they unfolded:
