January 24, 2023
Sepuloni likely target of trolls
If you thought the social media response to Jacinda Ardern was bad, just wait for the trolls to find out about new deputy prime minister Carmel Sepuloni.
That’s the warning from Neil Curtis, and associate professor of media and communications at the University of Auckland.
He says racist and misgynist social media techniques developed by American neo-fascists are finding fertile ground in sections of New Zealand culture, with a high profile Green MP being a particular target.
“Golriz Ghahraman has been subject to this for a very, very long time, what they call misogynoir, which is a particular type of misogyny aimed at people of colour, black women in particular. Golriz has received it so we need to be watching for what is happening to Carmel Sepuloni because she is really going to be in the firing line,” associate professor Curtis says.
He says white male culture doesn’t acknowledge how online abuse can have a profoundly more damaging effect on people who experience racial discrimination in their daily lives.