We know NZ’s moslem community hold ALL white people responsible simply because they themselves know ALL NZ moslems WANT to live in an Islamic State. So it’s natural to moslems that all white people think the same. Now it’s become officially recognised how easily NZ moslems have swayed NZ’s PM to manipulate the media to disarm NZ.
Public support for gun control in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings was influenced by media coverage of the atrocity, according to a new study.
Researchers at University of Otago Wellington analysed print articles for three months after the attack and say the decision to leave the gunman “nameless and faceless” meant New Zealanders were more likely to support changes in government policy – rather than blame the event on the actions of an individual.
Fifty-one people were killed when a gunman opened fire in two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019, using a lawfully obtained military-style semi-automatic rifle.
Within weeks of the attacks, politicians passed a ban on high-power guns and further gun controls were introduced in June this year, including a firearms register.
Dr Susanna Every-Palmer – head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at Otago University – said the Government’s rapid action on the first tranche of gun control measures “coincided with the window of maximum support for legislative change”.
The research found that of the 749 news reports that focused on the mosque shootings, only 53 mentioned the gunman’s name and only twice did his name appear in the headlines.
Every-Palmer said one of the most notable features of media coverage was the refusal by most news outlets to name the shooter.
She said this was likely influenced by the “strong message” delivered by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern four days after the attack, in which she vowed never to speak the gunman’s name and asked others to follow her lead.
“The New Zealand media’s focus on the ease with which someone could legally obtain dangerous weapons and the environment in which terrorism can grow, rather than on the shooter himself, is important,” she said.
The attack was livestreamed on Facebook and the gunman released a manifesto of his aims.
Every-Palmer said the media realised it was “being played” by the gunman so opted to report on the victims, rather than “who he was and how he did it”.
“There is also evidence that not naming the shooter may reduce the risk of copycat events.”
She said the New Zealand media’s approach differed from previous mass shootings, with 85 per cent of print media articles naming the perpetrators of the mass shootings in Norway in 2011 and in Las Vegas in 2017, in the six months following the attacks.
The four researchers analysed print media reports between March 15 and June 15, 2019.
“Several factors, including the scale of the Christchurch attacks – the worst in New Zealand’s history – the media focus on the fact that the weapons had been legally obtained, and the fear of further violence all meant there was strong support for changes to gun laws and a sense of urgency about implementing them,” Every-Palmer said.
Michael Dowling, chair of the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners, said the findings supported what a lot of his members felt.
“It certainly showed that the self-censorship by the Government and media contributed to the demonisation of firearms owners and the laws that were passed had nothing to do with what the gunman did,” he said.
“A lot of members would have agreed with the intent – which was to deny the offender a platform to share [his] views – but the result of those good intentions is, potentially people have made decisions without knowing the full impact.”
The findings of the research have been published in the Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
In March, the man accused of the attacks pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one terrorism charge. His sentencing will begin on August 24.
Mosque attack coverage contributed to support for gun control in New Zealand
