The Herald's Kirsty Johnston spent months infiltrating the online discussions of New Zealand's "alt-right" Nazis. And unsurprisingly, they love Winston Peters:
Secondly, a week later, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters visited Victoria University in Wellington. During his speech to students he questioned the media's role in causing the [Auckland University European Students Association] group to shut down. He accused journalists of suppressing dissenting voices, and on his way out, unashamedly signed a cartoon of a frog named Pepe - the most popular symbol of the alt-right.
Peters' actions set the New Zealand 4Chan boards alight.
"Guess who just got my vote!!" one user wrote. "Winston is based". (Based, loosely, means good).
"Absolutely BASED," said another. "Winnie has my undying respect."
"Winston is /ourguy/, right?" another asked. "I want someone to get rid of the Indians and Chinese, those f****** are stealing our country right out from under us."
In addition to the hype, users began earnestly discussing the importance of helping Peters win.
They also apparently talked about getting involved in Young NZFirst in order to have a greater influence on the party. So, they're not just directly supporting him, but his party is rotten with them (and it really makes you wonder how many of them are going to be on his party list).
And then Winston gets all high and mighty when called on his racism? Please. Nazis know a racist when they see one, and that's why they support Winston. But the result is that no-one else should.
(Not that this is any great surprise: the National Front - actual, open Nazis - publicly endorsed Winston in 2005, and in 2011, and in 2014 reminded him that "We have had NF supporters working hard for NZ first from its beginning". So alt-right support for NZFirst is absolutely consistent with the positions of both groups).
