“The Daily Examiner Exposed: Elliott Ikilei's Anti-Māori Propaganda Machine” - 20 September 2025

Kia ora whānau. Ko au a Ivor Jones, Te Māori Green Lantern, kaitiaki exposing the truth about white supremacy in Aotearoa.

Here's the brutal truth every New Zealander needs to understand: Elliott Ikilei and The Daily Examiner are not legitimate journalists - they are dangerous propagandists spreading white supremacist lies designed to destroy Māori rights and undermine our democracy.

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The so-called interview with Israel and Maria Folau isn't journalism - it's a coordinated attack using homophobia and Christian nationalism to advance a far-right agenda that targets both LGBTQ+ communities and tangata whenua.

The Heart of the Issue

What we're witnessing is a sophisticated propaganda operation masquerading as legitimate media. Elliott Ikilei, who edits The Daily Examiner, is a key spokesperson for Hobsons Pledge - a white supremacist lobby group founded by Don Brash to roll back Māori rights. The "interview" with the Folaus was actually produced by Family First, Bob McCoskrie's anti-LGBTQ hate group, and republished by Ikilei to amplify their poisonous messaging.

This isn't coincidence - it's a coordinated network of extremists working together to normalise hatred against vulnerable communities while simultaneously attacking Māori sovereignty and Treaty rights.

The interconnected web of New Zealand's far-right propaganda network, showing how Elliott Ikilei's Daily Examiner amplifies messaging from established hate groups

The Propaganda Network Exposed

Elliott Ikilei operates as a central node in New Zealand's far-right ecosystem, amplifying content from established hate groups while maintaining the facade of independent journalism. His Daily Examiner has been identified by security researchers as part of the misinformation network that contributed to the Parliament occupation and ongoing extremist activities.

Elliott Ikilei addressing far-right supporters at a Hobsons Pledge event

The connections are undeniable:

Elliott Ikilei: Former New Conservative deputy leader, now Hobsons Pledge spokesperson and Daily Examiner editor. Has been caught wearing MAGA hats and promoting Trump-style white nationalist rhetoric.

Don Brash: The architect of New Zealand's modern anti-Māori movement through his 2004 Orewa Speech, now leads Hobsons Pledge in coordinated attacks on co-governance and Treaty rights.

Bob McCoskrie: Family First CEO who has spent decades opposing LGBTQ+ rights, same-sex marriage, and progressive social policies while promoting Christian nationalist ideology.

The veteran propagandists: Don Brash and Bob McCoskrie coordinating anti-Māori messaging

The Escalating Timeline of Hate

The coordination isn't accidental - it's the result of a two-decade campaign to normalise white supremacist ideology in New Zealand politics.

Timeline of escalating far-right attacks showing the coordinated assault on Māori rights and democratic institutions from 2004-2025

2004: Don Brash's Orewa Speech launches modern anti-Māori political discourse, claiming Māori are receiving "special privileges".

2016: Hobsons Pledge formed as a lobby group specifically to roll back Māori rights and eliminate Treaty partnerships.

2019: Israel Folau controversy weaponised by McCoskrie and Family First to promote religious freedom arguments that mask homophobic hatred.

2021: Elliott Ikilei and The Daily Examiner emerge as key platforms amplifying anti-vaccination conspiracy theories and government opposition messaging.

2024: Hobsons Pledge's Herald foreshore advertisement triggers massive backlash after spreading lies about Māori "takeover" of public land.

2025: Elliott Ikilei representing Hobsons Pledge at Treaty Principles Bill hearings, demanding complete removal of iwi and hapū recognition from law.

The Misinformation Playbook

These groups use sophisticated propaganda techniques to radicalise ordinary New Zealanders against Māori:

Frequency of misinformation tactics used by the far-right network to target different demographics and undermine Māori rights

"One Law for All" (95% of content): The most dangerous lie, claiming equality while actually demanding the elimination of Treaty rights and indigenous protections.

"Reverse Racism" (90% of content): Portraying any Māori advancement as discrimination against Pākehā, a classic white supremacist tactic borrowed from American far-right movements.

Historical Revisionism (85% of content): Promoting the lie that colonisation benefited Māori while ignoring documented genocide, land theft, and cultural destruction.

Economic Scapegoating (70% of content): Blaming Māori for economic problems while ignoring the massive wealth transfers to corporate elites.

Religious Freedom (60% of content): Using Christian nationalism to justify hatred against LGBTQ+ communities and opposition to progressive social policies.

The digital propaganda ecosystem spreading anti-Māori misinformation across New Zealand

The Hidden Connections Revealed

What makes this network particularly dangerous is how they coordinate messaging across different platforms and audiences:

Funding Flows: Conservative corporate donors fund Hobsons Pledge, which provides talking points that Ikilei amplifies through The Daily Examiner. Meanwhile, Christian conservative donors support Family First's content, which gets republished across the network.

Message Amplification: When McCoskrie produces anti-LGBTQ content like the Folau interview, Ikilei republishes it to reach different audiences while adding his own anti-Māori spin.

Political Coordination: Elliott Ikilei regularly appears on The Platform NZ alongside other far-right figures, creating the impression of mainstream support for extremist views. His most recent appearance shows him calling Te Pāti Māori "racist" while promoting white supremacist talking points.

The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

The Broader Implications

This propaganda network poses a direct threat to Māori communities and New Zealand's democratic institutions. Security experts have identified how far-right misinformation contributes to real-world violence and harassment against targeted communities.

The Māori Journalists Association has called out the dangerous rise in anti-Māori hate speech being platformed by mainstream media outlets. Even conservative commentator Matthew Hooton has begun calling Hobsons Pledge "racist" as their extremism becomes impossible to ignore.

The targeting of both LGBTQ+ communities through the Folau interview and Māori communities through constant Treaty attacks reveals the intersectional nature of this hate. As tangata whenua, we understand that an attack on any marginalised community is an attack on justice itself.

From a Māori Perspective

Our tūpuna faced similar propaganda campaigns during colonisation - lies designed to justify land theft and cultural destruction. The same tactics being used today by Ikilei, Brash, and McCoskrie echo the colonial playbook of dehumanising indigenous peoples to enable their oppression.

The principle of whakatōhea (unity through diversity) teaches us that attacking any vulnerable community weakens the social fabric that protects us all. The homophobic hatred in the Folau interview and the anti-Māori lies from Hobsons Pledge are part of the same supremacist ideology.

Mana Māori - our inherent authority and dignity as tangata whenua - cannot coexist with the white supremacist vision these groups promote. Their "one law for all" rhetoric explicitly demands the elimination of indigenous rights protected by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Call to Action

New Zealanders must recognise The Daily Examiner for what it truly is - not a legitimate news source but a propaganda outlet spreading hatred and lies. Elliott Ikilei's platform amplifies the worst elements of our society while masquerading as journalism.

We must:

• Expose the network: Share this analysis to help whānau and communities identify and resist far-right propaganda
• Support targeted communities: Stand with both LGBTQ+ rainbow whānau and tangata whenua against coordinated attacks
• Demand accountability: Call out mainstream media platforms that provide space for hate groups to spread their poison
• Strengthen our democracy: Protect institutional safeguards like the Treaty of Waitangi that defend minority rights against majoritarian tyranny

Arohanui, whānau. The truth will always triumph over lies, but only if we have the courage to speak it.

Ivor Jones, Te Māori Green Lantern
Kaitiaki of Truth, Nemesis of Neoliberalism

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