Siouxsie Wiles continues to defame me and The BFD in her public and email statements. She accuses me in particular and The BFD generally of spreading disinformation about her hypocrisy, something which isn’t even in doubt.
A reader has corresponded with Siouxsie Wiles, who continues to spread her own particular brand of dis-information. Note, I am very carefully using the word dis-information, not the milder mis-information. The reason is that she is deliberately and falsely making claims against my integrity and the integrity of The BFD. Here is the recent correspondence between our reader and Siouxsie Wiles. The email and private contact details are redacted:
From: [REDACTED]
Sent: 09 September 2021 11:20
To: Siouxsie Wiles
Cc: Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins, David Seymour Barry Soper, NewshubSubject: The BFD article dated 9.9.21 on your day at the beach refers
Hello Susie
I am writing this email because of what I believe is the contempt and hypocrisy of this Government, Government advisors such and yourself and Senior editors and journalists in this country.
You have been put up by the Labour Government spokesperson and poster girl to win the confidence of New Zealanders due to your expertise as a virologist, instructing the New Zealand public on the rules.
I have a friend in her middle 70’s in a wheel chair with “cerebral palsy”, who lives alone in a HNZ flat “watching her walls everyday” and is very worried about a friend and neighbour who calls to see her and check on her well being (and has been for years) because Ms Ardern said “don’t talk to your neighbour”. Vulnerable people become depressed (or more depressed) depending on their particular circumstances. I believe that both yourself and Ardern are anything but “kind”
Here are a couple of comments from “The BFD” for you to think about.
“Obviously if Siouxsie feels it safe enough to behave like this then there’s nothing to worry about with Delta. Everyone just needs to get out there and carry on as usual and call her out on her duplicitous conduct. The public needs to know that we are being #ledbydonkeys.”
“She must have had a pretty large L4 bubble, given everyone else at L4 was told “don’t speak to your neighbours” by Cindy.”
“Wiles is now exposed and her hypocrisy revealed, so the Covid clap trap she has been peddling can now be seen for what it really is. Rubbish for a Labour agenda. It is Animal Farm all over again, or to put it another way utter contempt for her fellow NZers. Does she really deserve Kiwibank NZer of the year? Nope. No way.”
“TV1 reported as saying there was no public interest in one of the more published “advisors” flouting the rules under L4 because it wasn’t a politician?
Meanwhile in Christchurch a law professor gets MSM coverage over her “disgust” at some oldies enjoying a coffee rave (her description) under L2.
“Jacinda would be weeping” the professor is reported to have said. I guess that that brings a politician into the article to justify its publication.”Another good example of the contempt and hypocrisy of the news media was on the Morning of 10th August 2021 (the morning after the power blackout) a group of journalists including Tova O’Brien and Barry Soper were waiting to interview Megan Woods at Parliament – it was a live feed and I don’t think the journalists realised their comments were going out on air. There was normal “small talk” such as Tova O’Brien commenting on another persons hair “I like your hair cut – not that I don’t normally like your hair” and Barry Soper commenting about the Huntly Power station not being at full capacity. When Tova O’Brien entered the group of journalists her first statement was “they’ll be late because Jacinda is coming with Megan. After some time of waiting O’Brien said “shall I ask them what the fuck kept you”. She then called Jacinda “Jacinda Raminda (or Jacinda Rahinda). Other journalists were practicing questions and it appeared they were going to be “extremely tough” with their questions, however when Woods and Adern came to the journalists Adern controlled the entire interview and at the end those ”tough” journalists seemed to go “weak at the knees”. So, no hard hitting questions, and again NZ gets let down by Senior Journalists and Editors who give this Adern government a “free pass”
Email to Siouxsie Wiles
Her reply five hours later was:
From: Siouxsie Wiles
Sent: Thursday, 9 September 2021 5:33 pm
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: RE:Kia ora [REDACTED]
Thanks for your email.
As I explained to Cam Slater when he emailed me about this yesterday before posting the video, I was out for some fresh air with someone in my bubble. My bubble-mate is not a journalist, and I told him that, so I’ll leave it to you to decide why he lied about that. Saying that, I’m not sure what the relevance of my bubble-mate’s profession is.
What you can’t see is that the beach was almost deserted with just two other small bubbles there – including the one who obviously decided to film me. There was huge amounts of space between us all, enough for my bubble-mate and I to be able to have a conversation unmasked. We masked up as soon as we got back on our bikes for the short cycle home.
I think you might find the ‘red flags of misinformation’ graphic that Toby Morris and I worked on useful. You can just scroll down this post to find it. We had vaccine misinformation in mind, but it applies in this instance too. It has some good tips on how to avoid being manipulated by people who are using misinformation to push their own agenda.
Best wishes
Siouxsie
Email reply from Siouxsie Wiles
As you can see she has accused me of lying in my article. Whilst it is true that I described her “bubble mate” as a journalist on the basis that our source had overheard them discussing an up-coming article at The Spinoff, that was subsequently corrected in a follow up article that described Nicola Gaston correctly as a “contributor” to The Spinoff, which she most definitely is.
For the record, I had emailed Siouxsie Wiles ahead of the article, for comment, and this was her complete reply:
From: Siouxsie Wiles
Sent: Thursday, 8 Sept 2021, 17:02
To: Cam Slater
Subject: RE:Kia ora Cam
Thanks for your email.
I was with someone from my bubble, who lives in the area and is not a Spinoff journalist. Judges Bay is about 5km from my home which is pretty local when on a bicycle.
Best wishes
Siouxsie
Email from Siouxsie Wiles
That was it. That was the sum total of her response to this email from me:
From: Cam Slater
Sent: Thursday, 8 Sept 2021, 15:52
To: Siouxsie Wiles
Subject: Level Four breaches by yourselfHi Ms Wiles,
I am in receipt of a video of you and a journalist from The Spinoff enjoying last Friday at the beach at Judges Bay.It would appear that you were not wearing a mask, and talking in close proximity to another person.
On 18 August this year you were quoted in an article at RNZ as saying:
Please don’t go out and chat with a friend while you are out, Wiles said.
“Don’t hang around and have a chat, connect in other ways. We’ve got phones, we’ve got Skype, we’ve got Zoom…we need to physically disconnect for a little while,” she said.
“Stay away from people.”
How do you reconcile your own actions against your own advice to the public?
Why did you choose Judges Bay when your place of residence is Freemans Bay? This is again in contravention of Level Four restrictions for staying local.I am reliably informed that this Spinoff journalist is not from your household either.
Further more you went wading in the water while this journalist broke Level Four rules of not swimming. I refer you to this article at, ironically, The Spinoff: https://thespinoff.co.nz/covid-19/18-08-2021/what-are-the-rules-for-alert-level-four-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
You are New Zealander of the Year, ostensibly because of your public health messaging, what do you have to say about this egregious example of what looks rank hypocrisy on your part, and that of the journalist.
I would appreciate a response that can be included in an article we will shortly publish.
Kind regards
Email from Cam Slater to Siouxsie Wiles
Cam Slater
As you can now see, Siouxsie Wiles did not address the numerous questions I asked her. Instead she focused her response almost entirely on the occupation of her claimed “bubble mate”. I asked her follow-up questions in order to clarify her position before publishing, but she never responded to this follow-up email:
From: Cam Slater
Sent: Thursday, 8 Sept 2021, 17:22
To: Siouxsie Wiles
Subject: Level Four breaches by yourselfThank you for your reply. Unfortunately it doesn’t clarify anything.
Who was the person with you? Are they in your household?
The person may well be in your bubble but you are on record, yesterday, as saying people should wear a mask even at level two. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/450925/covid-19-dr-siouxsie-wiles-on-mask-wearing-in-alert-level-2
It is currently Level four, why weren’t you wearing a mask?
From your house to Judges Bay, on a bicycle it is 5.6km and another 5.6km return. Did you ride a bicycle there? If not how did you get there?
While we are communicating I’d like to also ask why, when you attended Prego Restaurant, shortly before the most recent lock down, you didn’t sign in when you arrived?
Regards
Email from Cam Slater to Siouxsie Wiles
Cam Slater
I also emailed the Managing Editor of The Spinoff, Duncan Grieve, before publishing my article. This was his reply, for the record:
From: Cam Slater
Sent: Thursday, 8 Sept 2021, 17:09
To: Duncan Grieve
Subject: Your contributor and Journalist breaking Level Four restrictionsKia ora Cam,
I understand Dr Wiles will be in touch shortly, but that’s not one of the Spinoff’s journalists pictured alongside her in the image you attached.Best,
Email from Duncan Grieve
Duncan
As you see Duncan Grieve was even less forthcoming with answers to legitimate questions. But you can clearly see now that both Grieve and Wiles have decided to dance on the head of a pin over one word, “journalist”. Duncan Grieve must have known by this time that it was Dr Gaston. Gaston is described at The Spinoff as a “Guest Writer”:
Since both Duncan Grieve and Siouxsie Wiles want to hang their defence of the indefensible on just a single word, I looked up the definition of journalist. The Merriam Webster dictionary describes a journalist as “a writer who aims at a mass audience”.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a journalist as “a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television”. The Oxford dictionary is similar.
So their defence, based on a single word, is found wanting, given that Nicola Gaston is described as a “guest writer” writing for a “magazine” website for a “mass audience”. Unless, of course, Duncan Grieve is saying that The Spinoff doesn’t have a mass audience.
I have to ask you dear readers, who is the one practising dis-information? Is it me or is it Siouxsie Wiles and Duncan Grieve?
But our reader correspondent wasn’t finished there and sent another email:
From: [REDACTED]
Sent: Sunday, 12 September 2021 8:04 am
To: Siouxsie Wiles
Subject: RE: RE:Hello Siouxsie
Thank you for your reply.
Kindness:
In my email I referred to a vulnerable person I know who takes the information from the Ardern government and advisors like yourself, very seriously. You don’t seem to understand that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders are in this position. They include people with depression, people under immense financial pressure and many others. You do not comment on that situation, so obviously you have no empathy for those doing it tough under these lock down conditions, whilst you are obviously continuing with life, doing whatever you like, on your very secure salary. That’s not being kind.
You say the beach was almost deserted and there were only two other people on the beach besides yourself, (the one walking a dog obviously understood the rules as he was wearing a mark) and the person filming you. If people in Auckland understood that your rules could be “interpreted” as “they deemed fit”, the beach would have been packed with people getting fresh air. But it wasn’t because the Police are out and about checking people’s movements and stopping them “interpreting” the rules “as they seem fit”. That’s not being kind.
You “threw” your friend “under the bus” on national radio. That’s not being kind.
You are happy for people to “dob” others in to the police when they think others aren’t following your rules, but you think it unfair when someone “dobs” you in. That’s not being kind.
Lying:
You tell me your friend is not a journalist and say the profession of your friend isn’t relevant. Under normal circumstances you would be correct, but in this case it is extremely relevant as she is also “parroting the government spin” through “twitter” and is a contributor (writes for) the “Spinoff“. So Cameron Slater didn’t lie, he was right on the money.
You tell me go to the “Spinoff” to avoid being manipulated by people who are using misinformation to push their own agenda” Cameron Slater states, “When I first contacted Duncan Grieve, the Managing Editor at “the Spinoff” about his contributor breaching both lockdown rules and her own advice regarding socialising and mask-wearing, I also specifically asked if the other person contributed to “the Spinoff”. He denied it”. Did Duncan Grieve lie or is it misinformation?
You tell me to go to “the Spinoff” ” to avoid being manipulated by people who are using misinformation to push their own agenda. Both your friend and yourself contribute articles (write for) “the Spinoff” whilst you are advising the Government on Covid related matters. “The Spinoff” is apparently a publication that accepted Government media money (your know the money handed out with conditions), so is that a “bit of” a conflict of interest. I think so.
You told me you cycled to the beach. You apparently have an e-bike. Is that a “wee” lie?
You told me you cycled the short distance home. You consider 5km plus one way, a short cycle. I guess I’ll give you that one because you weren’t doing much “actual cycling”
You tell me to go to ”the Spinoff” as it has some good tips on how to avoid being manipulated by people who are using misinformation to push their own agenda. Siouxsie, you appear to have put plenty of spin in your email and news items over the last couple of days. I wonder who is giving the “misinformation” on a regular basis to push their own agenda.
Regards
[REDACTED]
Email to Siouxsie Wiles from a reader
Wiles did not respond to that email. But what you can now see is that far from the media narrative – that this story was disinformation, a deliberate falsehood spread by The BFD – in fact, we were 100% correct in every aspect, including the questionable extension of Wiles’s bubble to include a person several suburbs away from where Wiles lives in Freemans Bay.
The deliberate labelling of our story by Wiles, The Prime Minister, Grant Robertson, Ashley Bloomfield and the mainstream, as “disinformation” is in and of itself a particularly nasty piece of disinformation. Worse still, these stories, and me in particular, were subject to a mention at a Police Intelligence Briefing, which also described the stories and me as purveying disinformation to conspiracy theorists.
It seems the cover story to protect Siouxsie Wiles and Nicola Gaston by labelling our stories as disinformation has come from very high up within government circles. Considering that Dr Ashley Bloomfield had a quick heads up on the problem directly from Siouxsie Wiles, and Grant Robertson was very clearly well briefed on the matter when journalists started asking the awkward questions, it would seem obvious that there is a campaign within government to discredit me and The BFD.
Numerous Official Information Act requests have been sent to get to the bottom of this but on the surface it seems that there is a secret group within the Police that is monitoring and surveilling journalists for their “wrongthink” and then labelling them as “disinformation”.
If you think that there is nothing wrong with this, then cast your mind back to the government’s desire to legislate against “hate speech” and their professed desire to let Police create the definition of hate speech.
The insidious smearing of journalists and outlets for the “crime” of asking difficult questions of media favourites is disgusting and dangerous. The only people in this whole sorry saga who have spread disinformation are Siouxsie Wiles, Duncan Grieve, Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield and the NZ Police. We will not let this stand, even if the Free Speech Union has washed their hands of this.
We need a strong and free media, not a bunch of bootlicking journalists being fed choice tidbits from those in power. You can help make us stronger by joining the thousands of others who are already members.
Please share this article so others can discover The BFD.