Exposé: How soft-power networks are influencing public perception

Video: Narrated by Samuel Hudson, the investigation reveals how conservative far-right soft-power networks and influencers are shaping public perception weaponizing language like “take back New Zealand” and invoking “war” to fuel division and incite hostility.

Everyday New Zealanders should be able to rely on mainstream media and institutions for accuracy and every journalist must pay attention to hostile groups and actors that seek to undermine democracy. Samuel Hudson investigates how conservative far-right soft-power networks are influencing public perception.

In New Zealand, accountability is breaking down and that is a growing concern. Increasingly, the leaning outside traditional institutions for information and leadership comes with twisted narratives and the manipulation of public perception from hostile groups and actors.

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In the vacuum left behind conservative and far-right groups have begun to build their own networks of radical influence. They have found a way to operate without elections or policy debate through something called soft-power influence. It is the subtle persuasion of culture, religion, and shared identity; all present in what is described as manipulative advocacy designed to sway public perception.

In 2024, a conference called Inflection Point was held in Wellington. The event organised by controversial businessman Rhys Williams was billed as a forum for open discussion about free speech and national values and, in practice, it became a gathering point for conservative anti-establishment commentators and activists and religious leaders such as Destiny Church Leader Brian Tamaki.

Image: Attendees gather at the Inflection Point conference held at Tākina Events Centre, Wellington, in 2024. The event attracted a conservative anti-establishment audience who came to hear speeches from prominent right-leaning voices and religious figures opposing progressive politics. (Supplied / Inflection Point, public media)

The message was consistent throughout this event crafting a carefully curated narrative. Speakers claimed New Zealand’s institutions had been captured by progressive ideology and that it was time to “take [the country] back.” Tamaki took the stage with intensity and without resistance utilised radical language citing Christianity. He condemned what he called “gender ideology,” describing it as a “satanic sickness,” and told the audience political leaders had to “ban it immediately.”

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Tamaki called for a “counter-revolutionary move” to reclaim New Zealand’s school curriculum, health services, families, and even its flag. He achieved this rhetoric using language unfounded for reasonable and responsible public debate; it was not about the lord and saviour, but rather a political interest and motivation. His speech was met with cheers from an audience eager for a fight and “war” that felt patriotic.

Image: Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki addresses attendees at the Inflection Point conference criticising progressive ideology and calling for a “counter-revolutionary” movement. (Supplied / Inflection Point, public media)

What unfolded on the stage at Inflection Point was a deliberate use of soft-power influence to achieve one goal, change policy without referendum or public scrutiny. The combination of faith, culture, and grievance was carefully constructed to portray a single moral cause that allowed for the line-up of speakers to urge attendees to reject media, academics, and government experts, casting them as corrupt elites who could no longer be trusted.

Image: Anti-trans activist Dianne Landy (left) and former journalist and columnist Rachel Stewart (right) share remarks at the Inflection Point conference, where themes of cultural betrayal and distrust in media drew strong reactions from attendees. (Supplied / Inflection Point, public media)

One speaker, Dianne Landy, accused Māori leaders of selling out their culture for “rainbow blankets and thirty pieces of glitter.” Another, who is a former journalist and columnist identifying as a gay conservative, Rachel Stewart, declared that “[the] media needs to die.” Along with many other speakers at the event a narrative was presented compelling of betrayal and loss that many in the audience found empowering through cheers and claps.

Soft-power influence works by taking advantage of emotion and belonging that is directed at small-enough audience rather than expressing policy detail and this technique does not need a political majority to change the mood of the room. At Inflection Point, the organisers understood that well and took advantage of it. For example, Tamaki told the audience only 3.5 percent of the population was needed to force change in the Halls of Power.

Having a small but motivated group attend under a shared moral vision pushed mainstream political parties to respond without scrutiny from the media or wider public. Only weeks after the conference the influence of the discourse was visible.

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Image: Screenshot from “Winston Peters: We’re out to look after women & girls, to stand up for safety & fairness in sports,” (New Zealand First, YouTube - July 25, 2025)

New Zealand First introduced the Definitions of a Woman and a Man Amendment Bill which sought to legally define gender in biological terms. Party leader Winston Peters defended it as standing up to “woke ideology.” Supporters described the proposal as common sense but the steady importation of culture-war language standing up against “woke ideology” into parliamentary policy was evident and a clear play of theatrical politics Peters has used for decades. This shift is significant because it completely bypasses the democratic safeguards that normally test major social change through means of protests on the streets.

It is important to note no referendum, no widespread consultation, and little public debate happened. Instead, ideas developed at a conservative far-right conference and weekly Destiny Church services disguised as political rallies moved straight into the legislative arena. Soft-power influence had done its work quite boldly.

Image: Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki speaks during a service in Auckland, October 20, 2025. One of several events blending religious worship with political messaging. (Destiny Church / Supplied)

This new strategy of manipulating public perspectives poses a growing risk to democratic accountability in New Zealand as conservative far-right movements and define politics as a moral crusade while compromise becomes betrayal. Policies shaped by conviction rather than consensus no longer rely on evidence or debate and instead they rely on loyalty to the cause, which is evident. That dynamic alone erodes democratic conversations. The rhetoric of Inflection Point framed politics as warfare between good and evil and the David and Goliath imagery Tamaki used was simple but effective to change the audience’s perception using radical language. Goliath represented global elites and liberal institutions and David was the ordinary believer armed with faith and in that story Tamaki portrays that winning does not require votes or consent. The danger is that such conversations can achieve political power without any democratic support from vote-bases. Their influence operates through repetition and moral pressure rather than open discussion and by presenting themselves as the voice of the people, they create the illusion of a popular uprising even when the majority is silent or opposed.

New Zealand now stands at a crossroads with a tricky situation ahead for the next General Election. Trust in mainstream media and government is declining due to the radical rise of far-right discourse across the political landscape and, the appeal of manufactured probability offered by soft-power networks grows stronger. Their message is clear and emotional while democratic processes are slow and complex but it allows stealth changes to legislation without any scrutiny. If these trends continue, policymaking may increasingly reflect the will of small, highly organised and radicalised groups rather than the collective and progressive voice of the nation.

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Democracy always relied on open debate and public trust but both are now under pressure from a movement that speaks the language of ‘freedom’ while eroding the principles that protect it. The question is whether the country can still tell the difference between persuasion and manipulation before it is too late.

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