In the latest instalment of people outraged by things they clearly don’t understand, Aukaha News and a woman named Ellen Tamati have launched a social media tantrum over a billboard image used by Hobson’s Pledge in one of their campaign against Māori Wards.
The image in question? A stock photo. Legally purchased. Fully licensed. Totally above board.
Tamati, who is now the face of the “Vote No to Māori Wards” billboards, apparently didn't read the fine print when she (or the original photographer) submitted the image to a stock photo site. That’s how stock photography works. You get paid or you submit it willingly, then you lose control over how it's used. That includes political campaigns, advertising, or even a sandwich ad if someone wants.
Despite this, Aukaha News ran to Facebook in a panic, declaring Tamati was “just lost for words” and claimed “it’s not me” while literally looking at a photo of herself.
She and Aukaha seem to believe that because she personally supports Māori Wards, her image should never appear next to a view she disagrees with. That’s not how public licensing works, and it’s certainly not how logic works either.
Even more embarrassing is Aukaha’s request for their followers to start sending in photos of the billboards, like it’s some kind of criminal investigation rather than a completely lawful use of a stock image. This is what happens when activism gets filtered through Facebook outrage and not legal advice.
Meanwhile, Hobson’s Pledge responded with a calm and factual statement:
“The image was legally purchased through a reputable stock photography provider.”
No hysteria, no hashtags, no cries of victimhood, just a factual explanation that shuts down the manufactured drama.
Of course, that didn’t stop the unhinged replies from rolling in. One shining example from the “proudly uneducated but always angry” crowd was this gem:
“fuk off.. youre gonna get sued ya racist motherf#kers”
Nothing screams moral authority like completely abandoning grammar, spelling, and self-respect in a public forum.
This saga isn't about misuse of images. It’s about Aukaha News and Ellen Tamati not understanding the very basics of image rights. Instead of asking how her image ended up on a stock site, they’ve chosen to play the victim and throw around wild accusations to stir up their Facebook following.
If you put your image into the public domain via a stock provider, you don’t get to pick and choose who uses it later. That's not oppression. That's the internet.
Maybe next time, Ellen Tamati and the team at Aukaha News should spend less time manufacturing outrage and more time reading the licensing terms.
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