FACT Aotearoa (Fight Against Conspiracy Theories) is a grassroots group of activists fighting harmful conspiracy theories and disinformation in New Zealand. Our members include health professionals, academics, lawyers, teachers, students, and more who volunteer their time to minimise the impact of harmful misinformation.
Ultimately our aim is to reduce the ability of those who produce and share misinformation and conspiracy theories to do harm. We watched them putting lives at risk through vaccine and COVID-19 conspiracy theories and creating division within families and communities. We saw extremist and violent rhetoric becoming more prevalent in the spaces we monitor, including hate speech against minority communities and “kill lists” of journalists, politicians, and those involved in the vaccine roll-out. And we wanted to do something about it.
Some of us in FACT are also involved in other causes but our narrow focus on harmful conspiracy theories allows us to work together on this issue when we have a range of views on other issues. We are non-partisan and against harmful conspiracy theories wherever they arise.
Most people in FACT choose to be anonymous because of the risk of doxxing and threats. Since 2022 our spokesperson is Stephen Judd.
History
In late 2020 a group of people alarmed by the rapid spread of anti-vaccination and COVID-19 conspiracy theories got together to figure out what they could do about it. The original members included medical professionals, a journalist, festival goers, a stay-at-home dad, a home carer, small business owners, and other members of the public.
In 2022, FACT formally constituted itself as a charitable trust. Our volunteer Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the work of a team of activists who give their time, unpaid to support our work.
Funding
FACT Aotearoa is a volunteer organisation that accepts donations and applies for grants relevant to our purpose. See all funding up to September 2023 below.
Funding in 2021:
Funding in 2022:
- $2,000 (approx) donations from the general public
Funding in 2023:
- $10,000 from InternetNZ for infrastructure and administration costs
- $50,000 from DPMC Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism Fund for an education project to be launched in November 2023
If you would like to donate to our work, you can. We use your donations for software, hosting, storage, and admin costs.
If you would like to speak to a FACT Aotearoa representative, email us at media@factaotearoa.nz