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Hi @McGregorNZ:, @Gadfium:, @Adakiko:, @Furius:, and @Yvanyblog:, I wanted to start a discussion regarding The Platform's alleged political orientation and anti-vaccination status in light of the edit war last week. The two main sources for this were from The Spinoff and Radio New Zealand, which would meet the criteria for reliable sources on Wikipedia. While The Spinoff is a left-leaning/liberal current affairs online publication based in Auckland, Radio New Zealand is a public broadcasting service and the NZ equivalent of BBC News and ABC News (Australia). The Spinoffarticle cited doesn't explicitly say that The Platform is a right-wing source but founder Sean Plunket talks a good deal about his radio station providing an alternative to the perceived left-wing slant of the mainstream media in New Zealand. Having listened and watched The Platform's content over the past two years, they have hosted several right-wing figures ranging from mainstream figures such as National Party leader Christopher Luxon, ACT leader David Seymour, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters to more fringe figures such as climate skeptic Ian Wishart, influencer Chantelle Baker, and anti co-governance activist Julian Batchelor. The Platform has hosted some left-wing figures such as Chris Trotter, Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury, and Labour MP Ingrid Leary but they have proportionately hosted more right-wing figures. It's therefore save to conclude that The Platform would be a right-wing source. It also appeals to a right-wing anti-woke audience.
What I would dispute is the extent of The Platform's anti-vaccination stance. The Radio NZ article doesn't explicitly describe The Platform as anti-vaccinationist but documents how it hosted anti-COVID groups like the Voices for Freedom and NZ Doctors Speak Out With Science. The former Platform host Rodney Hide, who was formerly leader of the ACT party, has expressed anti-COVID vaccine views and sympathy for Voices for Freedom, which started off as an anti-COVID vaccination group. Hide subsequently joined a much more explicitly-anti-vax station called Reality Check Radio, which has ties to Voices for Freedom's leadership. The second Spinoff link cited above mentions that another Reality Check Radio founder Paul Brennan, was formerly involved with The Platform. The article also mentions that Hide, Brennan and Baker left The Platform because they regarded it as not anti-woke and anti-vaccine mandate enough to their liking. The Platform's founder Sean Plunket apparently stopped booking Hide "due to a lack of interest in debating anything beyond vaccines and mandates." According to the article, Plunket described Reality Check Radio as a single-issue media platform, calling it "rabbithole radio" and described the
"the movement driving it as “a little butthurt that I am not here for their specific ideas." While The Platform generated a lot of viewers after hosting several anti-mandate leaders following Stuff's "Fire and Fury" documentary on the 2022 Wellington protest, Plunket himself stated that "While it generated massive engagement online, he says the fact of the matter is that audience is limited and will never grow". The Spinoff article goes on to say that "Plunket now believes “the tide is going out” on a group he calls “the anti-vaccine, anti-mandate nutters”, and believes their disappointment with The Platform’s stance is what inspired the founding of Reality Check."
What do you is the think is the best way to approach it? My idea is having a brief section discussing The Platfom initially hosting anti-COVID vaccine activists but shifting focus away. Happy to hear what people think. Andykatib00:20, 10 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support I am unfamiliar with the topic other than the apparent whitewashing. Policy-based editing would be appreciated. Thank you Adakiko (talk) 21:30, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
If possible, it would be good to have more recent sources. The sources from 2022 are fine for what the Platform was initially, but only the second Spinoff article from March speaks to how it has developed and, as you say, it reports that Plunkett and co were then claiming that their station was in the process of shifting its approach, but it would be good to have sources that discuss how that actually panned out. It's also unclear how far they have actually abandoned an anti-covid etc approach. Furius (talk) 21:58, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
