Broadcaster Paddy Gower has once again handed his platform to professional moral panic merchants. This time he shone a spotlight on Jo Robertson, a supporter of B416, the lobby group trying to convince parents that social media is a cesspit so dangerous it will require ID to access.
The programme paraded “Ani,” an AI chatbot, as if it were the smoking gun that proves children are in mortal danger online. Robertson, who has long pushed alarmist claims about the internet, seized the moment to attack Elon Musk and his AI assistant Grok. She conveniently sidestepped the fact that the real internet is already flooded with explicit videos, pornography, grooming networks and exploitative content far worse than a chatbot spouting dirty talk.
What Gower delivered was not journalism. It was theatre, a carefully staged piece designed to shock viewers and funnel them towards B416’s preferred solution - digital IDs for every New Zealander wanting to use social media.
Investigating the B416 Campaign
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stirred up a wave of public attention today when he tweeted a picture of himself alongside a group of women from the organisation B416. In the tweet, he stated, "This great group of Kiwis have kicked off a fantastic campaign to protect our kids," referring to their mission to raise the age for social media usage in New Z…
The fearmongering glosses over the obvious. A chatbot like Ani may be unsettling, but it is nothing compared to the vast amount of hardcore material just a few clicks away. However Robertson and B416 have no interest in balance. Their game is to simply exaggerate a niche example, stir parental outrage, then present digital ID as the silver bullet.
It is the oldest trick in the book. Create a crisis, then sell the cure. Gower, rather than challenging the spin, served it up on primetime as if it were gospel.
What this really represents is a dangerous step towards state surveillance and online censorship. If B416 get their way, every New Zealander will need to hand over their identity to log into social media. Today it is sold as protecting kids. Tomorrow it becomes a tool for monitoring, filtering and silencing.
@2ETEKA: Exposing the truth behind B416
Credit to @2ETEKA for exposing what’s really happening behind the curtain.
The Ani stunt shows where this is heading. Robertson gets to posture as the guardian of children, Gower gets his ratings hit, and New Zealanders are left one step closer to having their digital lives monitored under the guise of safety.
