The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Radio New Zealand (RNZ) spent $71,842.53 on Facebook advertising over the past 12 months, despite earlier this year coming out in support of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which would force the likes of Facebook to pay media companies when users share links to domestic news content.

Responding to these revelations, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“RNZ cannot simultaneously argue that the sharing of their content online is bad for business while at the same time seeing so much benefit in social media promotion of their content that they spend tens of thousands of dollars on paid promotion. This blatant contradiction shows their calls for government intervention are nothing more than a shameless money grab.

“RNZ’s endorsement of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill suggests they think platforms like Facebook and Google exploit New Zealand’s media landscape. RNZ’s Facebook ad spending shows they know that just isn’t true.

“It appears what RNZ are really upset about is the fact that we are now in the 21st century, so New Zealanders can access news from almost anywhere in the world. Kiwis are turning away from a Government-owned media that they simply don’t enjoy or trust anymore.

“This rort would just lead to a re-run of the farce in Canada where social media sites pulled access to news. Scrambling for handouts and bailouts isn’t the answer to RNZ’s unwillingness to innovate.”

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