The BFD provided its daily audience of 25,000+ readers with three slide shows of photos from the November 9th Freedom protest in Wellington, access to a live Facebook video of the march and the speeches and an Op-Ed from the group that organised the march.
It was clear from both the photos and the video that it was a peaceful march of thousands of people from all walks of life. The signs carried by the protesters and the speeches made, enabled readers to judge for themselves what the core messages of the march were without being told what they were by The BFD.
If The BFD didn’t exist then our readers would only have the MSM to rely on. The following is a representative sample of the headlines and claims made by the MSM about the march.
The Spinoff: The protest that revealed a new, ugly, dangerous side to our country
However motley and incoherent some of the messages might seem, to laugh it off would be a mistake. The day brought to the surface nasty and violent sentiments that could, unchecked, turn into something awful
Politik: After the protest came the big defeat
Yesterday’s anti-vaccine protests have come as researchers find that there is increasing violence and antisemitism in the rhetoric of the anti-vax movement. But despite the Destiny Church’s Freedom and Rights Coalition colourful and large-scale anti-vax protest at Parliament yesterday, the movement has suffered a massive defeat in the Courts. The High Court has found that mandatory vaccinations do not breach the Bill of Rights Act.
Stuff Editorial: A protest where voices united, but agendas diverged
There was real unity to their cry of freedom. But behind that clarion call, more than one agenda was at play, at least one of which we ought to respect, and one we need to resist as contemptible and dangerous.
NZ Herald: Lockdown brings ‘unprecedented’ disinformation surge
[…] researchers are concerned that our parallel “infodemic” is steering the vaccine hesitant toward extreme, far-right ideologies that target minorities.
Stuff: Freedom of choice does not exist in isolation – we are responsible for others too
Ultimately, however, we don’t really have a choice. Community transmission is now a reality. Sooner or later in the coming weeks, months, and years, each of us will encounter the virus.
The Guardian: New Zealand anti-vaccine mandate protests: police and photographer attacked
According to Stuff, one of the country’s largest news organisations, one of their photographers was grabbed and pushed by protesters in Wellington yelling anti-media abuse.
[…] Tuesday’s protests appeared to consist of a few thousand people, an unusually large one for New Zealand, whose government has enjoyed extremely high levels of public support for its Covid pandemic response.
Some of the tenor of protesters’ signs and slogans had violent undertones, and echoed the Capitol riot in Washington in January –
Stuff: Jacinda Ardern says protest outside Parliament not representative of ‘vast bulk’ of Kiwis
In online messages planning the protest there were violent threats made towards Ardern. Tennis balls thrown by the protesters featured violent messages about Government ministers, including a specific death threat towards the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she did not have a message for the anti-vaccination protesters outside Parliament today, but she did have a message for the vaccinated: “thank you.”
“What we saw today was not representative of the view of the vast bulk of New Zealanders. So, actually, my message would be for them. It would be to say thank you. Thank you for being vaccinated, and doing what it takes to look after one another.”
RNZ: Protests represent a small minority, politicians say
Politicians of all stripes say the protests at Parliament today represent just a small minority of New Zealanders, as first-dose vaccination rates near the 90 percent mark.
Maori TV: Political agenda revealed in Tamaki/Trump-ish protest at Parliament
It was a mixed bag of concerns that amalgamated into mayhem. There were flags, signs, songs and aggression.
While most people were there to protest against the government’s mandates and lockdown restrictions, there were some there for everything from 1080, to others flying Trump flags and MAGA caps and others flying Tino Rangatiratanga flags. Some even wore swastikas. Many strongly abused the journalists and camera operators covering the event.
Newstalk ZB Anti-vaccination protest in Wellington died an uneventful death
Standing on the Parliament forecourt at 10 past 1, there was a brief moment where I felt if the barricades were to go, I’d be going home bruised and battered.
With the media and police outnumbered by thousands of protesters, it was easy to feel nervous about how the next few minutes would pan out.
However today’s Covid-19 protest in Wellington was fickle and died an uneventful death.
Stuff : No arrests at Parliament during protest, police to consider follow-up enforcement action
No arrests were made at a “largely peaceful” protest outside Parliament today, police said.
However, follow-up enforcement action will be considered by police in coming days, a spokesman said in a statement.
Spinoff : A nice day for a protest: Out among the anti-government marchers in Wellington
Today’s Freedom and Rights Coalition protest saw thousands march on the Beehive. It’s hard to pinpoint one clear reason why. While it was seemingly a march against vaccine mandates, crowd members were also protesting the Three Waters reform programme, the media, and the United Nations. Flags and signs waved support for Trump, QAnon, and Jesus Christ. Some attendees were wearing masks, and two admitted they were fully vaccinated. When asked why they were here, they said it was because New Zealand was becoming too “communistic”.
It was, broadly, an anti-government march.
Stuff: Protesters threaten ‘gridlock’ in all main cities if mandates not dropped
There were teachers, business owners, nurses, and people who described themselves as anti-vax and anti-mandate. Some carried Trump banners or Maori sovereignty flags, others compared Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Hitler and the media to Nazis.
They railed against Government control – vaccine mandates, the traffic light system, the Auckland boundary – and asserted their right to freedom. They traded misinformation about vaccines. Almost no-one wore a mask.