Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa

@sanjanah

Studying confluence of influence operations, disinfo, truth decay, information integrity & policies addressing online harms. Many thoughts, sometimes prayers.

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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 20d

Given the toxic masculinity, and outright (kinetic) violence normalised by this cult, esp. by the sermons of its leader week after week, month after month, year after year, this is entirely unsurprising. This is from Feb 2025, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/domestic-... It's got worse, since. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 20d

Significant new report from UNESCO highlights the value of strong journalism, & underscores just how much of an economic impact disinformation has. | The value of journalism: global evidence on why media matters to economies, national security and crises unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p... #nzpol

The cost of disinformation to society
in the year 2024, was estimated at
somewhere between US$350 and
510 billion.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 21d

Sentencing the symptom, sparing the source: New Zealand Law Commission’s hate crime report www.linkedin.com/pulse/senten... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/23/s... (WordPress) #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 21d

By t/his logic, regularly, and openly invoking the Christchurch terrorist's violent extremism and white supremacism as well as espousing xenophobia, and racism are not 'distractions' - which, by extension, means they are integral to NZ First. Always good to know where folks stand. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 22d

Importantly, this report also establishes a clear policy gap between the Russia Sanctions Register, and the governance of the NZ Domain Name Commission, and @internetnz.nz. This gap is being actively weaponised. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 22d

Sanctioned, but syndicated: How Russia's RT narratives permeate New Zealand www.linkedin.com/pulse/sancti... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/22/s... (WordPress) #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 22d

Cybersecurity and hybrid threats: Power as code, and reimaginations of security www.linkedin.com/pulse/cybers... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/22/c... (WordPress) #Cybersecurity #AI

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· 22d

The Law Commission's Hate Crime review is finally out. Has a dozen recommendations. www.lawcom.govt.nz/our-work/hat... #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 13

I see Shane Jones, and NZ First continue to officially, and openly invoke the Christchurch terrorist's awful argot - the embrace of which through political speech invariably creates pathways to the very same violent extremism that led to March 2019. #nzpol

We absolutely are opposed to the inclusion, in our view, open, unmanageable flows of migration through that deal. But know this from me, mate, there is an enormous thirst And hunger out there for people to start to stand up against this population replacement theory. We've gone from 5,000 a year to now 50 odd thousand a year. I think it's obvious. I think there's social cohesion issues, and it's not racist to call it out. Well, how can it be racist to state a fact? But you and I, we know that if you lose the confidence of the public and the public feel that the flow of new people is denying their own kids an opportunity, I just don't think. That after the next election, we're going to be able to sustain these huge flows of immigration and people with an ability to quickly get residents and bring whole clans with them. We're not having it.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 11

Facebook's deleted this feature, but what it calls "referencing" was the potential for the wholesale theft, & abuse of all public images on Instagram, which no one signed up for. A constant reminder that this company is built on founder who continues to believe users are, in his words, "dumb fucks".

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 11

Certainly tracks that Pauline Hanson would consider Winston Peters to be a "great man". From the Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/... #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 7

Just published something I've been working on for nearly two months. AI profiles of women on Facebook: Identity deception, sexualised engagement, and platform accountability www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-pro... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/a... (WordPress) #Facebook #AI #TFGBV

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 7

Sovereign citizens in New Zealand: Research brief www.linkedin.com/pulse/sovere... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/s... (WordPress) #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 6

The Political Economy of #Disinformation in South and Southeast Asia: Speaking notes, and research insights www.linkedin.com/pulse/politi... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/t... (WordPress)

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 6

Though there's pushback, & some support of Andrea Vance, when Winston Peters targets a leading woman journalist on his official Facebook (1.8k+ comments), & Twitter, (~190 replies), misogyny, & TFGBV are *radically* amplified. This violent rhetoric is what NZ First enables, & entrenches. #nzpol

Language against Vance
Andrea Vance is called a lefty, a lefty loonie, hard left, far left, woke, a woke pommy little muppet, a communist, a brain dead communist, a leftist mouthpiece, a Marxist, a socialist, and part of the woke mind virus. She is described as a toxic minx, a toxic reporter, a nasty piece, a swamp creature, an Irish mare, a Northern Irish import, an Irish Bánánach, an antia shill, a foreigner, and someone told to go home or be deported. She is called a Karen, a foul mouthed pig, a sausage, an absolute sausage, a half baked journalist, a shock jockey, empty vessel, bitter old hack, dangerous woman, and a nobody trying to be a wannabe. She is accused of prostituting herself with Peter Dunne, of ensnaring or pimping herself to Dunne, and of having no ethics or integrity. She is called potty mouthed, foul mouthed, and referred to using the c-word directly and via the euphemism C U Next Tuesday, and via the phrase see you next Tuesday. She is called a Karen, a bitter old hack, an echo chamber of one, biased, bigoted, compromised, deceitful, corrupt, joyless, a hit dog hollering, and triggered repeatedly, including phrases like triggered much, hit a nerve, and struck a nerve. She is called irrelevant, a nobody, and dismissed with who is Andrea Vance, never heard of her, and Andrea who. She is accused of writing hit pieces, template lefty views, and activism with a press pass rather than journalism. She is called a devoted Luxon fan and, contradictorily, far from left, while others insist she is hard left. She is described as scared, terrified the right will win, and living rent free in Winston's head. She is called a doom whore, a witch-like figure via old trout, a Karen-esque overly sensitive snowflake, and accused of race baiting and sex baiting. She is described as lacking talent, empty vessel making the most noise, and a hard left winger who doesn't like anyone but the left. She is accused of wanting fifty million dollars again and of tasting it. She…

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 3

Waiting for the ever vociferous Free Speech Union to celebrate this judgement... Anytime now. 🤡 #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 2

One recalls this announcement from ACT. Based on science, and physics (that the video above explains in a compelling way), nothing in it makes any sense. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 2

Very useful video to settle debates (in New Zealand, and elsewhere) on whether increasing speed limits on highways from 100kmph to 120kmph make any sense. You only ever save, at best, around one minute. Taken from Instagram, www.instagram.com/reel/DaP4kyF... #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

Not flagged in the RNZ article (or by the Green party) is the fact that National has *another* ad (their latest on Facebook) with exactly the same content as the previous one. It uses a similar AI-generated American voiceover - though, craftily, starts off with a NZ-accented voice.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

And not forgetting what ACT did three years ago. Act reconsiders ‘happy Māori’ AI image newsroom.co.nz/2025/04/17/a...

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

The Greens have raised factual concerns with an attack ad by National on their tax policy, www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic.... Not discounting this, was more interested in the North American voiceover (which I checked, & was gen-AI). The Greens refer to this too. @legallyfeminist.bsky.social #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

The 1st episode of CounterSpin Media, over 5yrs ago, ran a (really bizarre) ad with Guo in it. The 1st guest interviewed by Kelvyn ALP was Tex Hill, connected to Guo. Hill has a history of funding the far-right, conspiracy, & leading disinfo actors. See thespinoff.co.nz/politics/23-...

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

Interesting that Guo Wengui (aka Miles Guo) has been sentenced to prison for three decades. www.ft.com/content/daaa... Guo's relationship with Steve Bannon is well documented, incl. the co-founding of the video website, GTV. Guo has some interesting links to New Zealand. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jul 1

Striking how the centre-right, and the usual far-right chorus performatively angry at developments this week have not... actually read the law? #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 30

The evidence is abundant, but where's the political will to do anything about it? #nzpol

Digana in early 2018 strongly signalled that the interval between online dangerous speech and offline harm can be very short, and that institutions tend to move only once fires are lit, and bodies are burning. New Zealand had March 2019. My research shows the perpetrator’s material is increasingly recirculating, his name invoked, his ideology reframed, and promoted, and his livestream shared as both template, and martyrdom economy for new audiences – within New Zealand, and internationally. His violent extremism is more normalised in 2026 than it was in 2019. The prologue to offline violence is being written again – not just in comment threads and broadcasts and Telegram channels, but in the Hansard, and by what politicians like New Zealand First’s Shane Jones, and Winston Peters say, and how, in public. The question, as it was in the years leading up to 2018’s violence in Sri Lanka, and the unheeded warnings before March 2019’s terrorism, is around the political will to act on very clear evidence of social cohesion’s evisceration by the dangerous speech employed by populists, the far-right, and disinformation actors who are now not just at the fringe, but growing inside the Beehive.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 30

Dangerous speech targeting these identities, & communities goes further. A heavily weaponised, and eliminationist discourse defines the commentary. This isn't new, & members of his congregation go on to spread hate, & there's clear, documented, awful offline violence against LGBTIQA+ community.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 30

Today offers one example, amongst 1000s going back 5 years. Tamaki live streamed the Police at his house. The video generated 4.8k+ comments. I studied 3k. Indian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities are vituperatively targeted in the comments. This argot defines Destiny Church followers.

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 25

In analysis sent to the PPTA late last year - after the publication of their seminal report on youth radicalisation in secondary schools - highlighted how online commentary indicated the problem was much worse than what even PPTA flagged at the time. Clearly, it's not got any better since. #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 25

Today's story in the RNZ on radicalisation's foothold in NZ classrooms is a path-depedency that was foretold in March 2023. Investing in teachers/teaching vital. | 'I've had students deny the Holocaust in class': far-right extremism on the rise in classrooms www.rnz.co.nz/news/educati... #nzpol

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa@sanjanah· Jun 24

South Asia's first framework for the ethical use of AI in newsrooms, and journalist collectives www.linkedin.com/pulse/south-... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/06/24/s... (WordPress) #SriLanka #AI #journalism #media