Rumours, gossip and lies

The video begins with a reporter in a TV studio saying the government has denied claims about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s fiancé, Clarke Gayford.

- STEPHEN DAVIS

We cut to another reporter standing outside what she says is the Prime Minister’s home, which “looks empty”.

There is a quick interview with a man who says he saw Gayford outside Bunnings, talking on his mobile and looking worried. And another with a young woman who posted a rumour about Ardern and Gayford on social media and complains about an employee of the couple being paid with taxpayers’ money.

The video is convincing – if you watched it, you might be inclined to believe there was a hidden scandal being covered up by the government and its supporters in the media.

Thankfully, you will never see it. The video was produced in strictly controlled circumstances by my students at the University of Otago, as part of a course on teaching them how to combat fake news. They learnt how easy it was to produce deceptive content and what to look for when they see it on their social media feeds.

The studio background is fake. The video has no facts, just random questions and suggestive commentary.

If only those rumours were confined to classroom sessions. Instead, crazy conspiracy theories about Ardern and her partner continue to proliferate on social media.