NZ Greens go full DARVO in protecting MP Benjamin Doyle and his dodgy Instagram account
DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.
In a stunningly executed dance of deflection, NZ Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson have asserted that everyone’s just being mean to MP Benjamin Doyle about his dodgy pictures with a child on his (now locked) Instagram account ¹. Simply because it’s also partnered with dodgy language and dodgy symbols, doesn’t mean it’s all that bad. Just in-house jokes and irreverence amongst the neo-rainbow community, which normies don’t get, and it’s on a private account, so it’s all being blown up out of context.
I don’t buy it.
When the pictures began emerging on social media on Friday 28 March, it wouldn’t have taken too long for the Green’s to decide to go for DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender). As a political party dogged with personnel disasters in recent years, they’re old friends with fiascos. For nearly three days they went into a communication lockdown, ignoring requests for comment, and worked on their plan. On Monday morning, they emerged with their devilishly clever story that everyone’s just being mean about non-binary Ben.
NZ First leader and Deputy Leader of the coalition government, Winston Peters, got the finger of blame pointed at him for spreading disinformation, which caused all the meanness, and Chlöe wants the Prime Minister to tell him off for it. Due to the fact that Benjamin Doyle is a Green MP, it follows that Mr Peters is guilty of spreading disinformation, which wouldn’t have been the case, of course, if Ben was a right-wing MP. Then Mr Peters would be doing a good job.
Precisely what disinformation he might have been spreading didn’t get touched on. Nor did it seem to be questioned by the reporters at Parliament listening to the Green co-leaders’ story, who reckoned that Mr Peters’ disinformation was “fanning the flames of hatred towards the rainbow community that we have recently seen can lead to real world violence". Perhaps a good question from a reporter to that assertion might have been “can you give me an example?”
I don’t think I’m alone in remembering that the worst “real world” violence we’ve seen in recent times has been against women at Albert Park by the neo-rainbow crowd and their cohorts, and spurred on by Green MPs. But, hey – never let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh?
The crime of disinformation Mr Peters is accused of, was to make a post on social media stating that the claims and pictures circulating about Benjamin Doyle’s Instagram account should be looked into. His response to that accusation was -
“How are Doyle’s own social media posts, that he posted himself, suddenly ‘disinformation’? Or is there a new thing called ‘self-inflicted disinformation’ now? All we have said is that they are inappropriate and that the media need to ask questions. How is that ‘disinformation’? How is that an attack on the rainbow community?
“If it was a straight white male MP doing the same thing with dodgy posts, we would call it out too.
“It’s clear the Green Party think that Doyle’s posts, language and innuendo are perfectly acceptable – the rest of New Zealand does not – including members of the rainbow community.
“Any Kiwi looking at those posts would have some serious questions and doubts about the suitability of these Green Party MPs.”
Peters added, “Every death threat is unacceptable and should be taken seriously by authorities. I know, because I have had plenty – it comes with the territory.
“But let’s get the facts straight: the Green Party themselves told me he was receiving these ‘death threats’ about this issue well before I posted anything on social media.” ².
Notably, most media outlets reported in a similar fashion on the Green’s DARVO story, Mr Peters’ comments, and bugger all on the actual issue raised about the inappropriateness of Benjamin Doyle’s Instagram account ³. A reporter who spoke to Mr Peters in Parliament on Monday even asked that if by exposing the issue, he was harming the child in the pictures (https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EGJW2qGAD/). Once again, if Benjamin Doyle had been a right-wing MP, Mr Peters would be a hero and the child’s saviour.
Basically, the Greens have circled the wagons around their newest MP, and are throwing shite at the enemy – i.e. those who think there are questions to be answered – as their defence. I daresay they’re so mired in their special world, they don’t think some of that shite will stick more to them, than those they throw it at.
Some things leave a long shadow, though, and maybe this is one of those things, even if the Greens and mainstream media try their darndest to shut it down and disappear it.
¹ Dodgy pics from an NZ Green MP's Instagram account get ignored by mainstream media.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/03/31/call-for-pm-to-step-in-over-peters-comment-on-green-mp/
Chloe Swarbrick talks to media about Benjamin Doyle’s nothing-to-see-here Instagram account.https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-herald-live-green-party-speak-to-media/GM4SJ6SFZOZZTZ5RWUATOIN6AQ/
If the Greens still get 10% or so next election, I’ll know there’s a percentage of the population who are impervious to facts. And sanity.
Not sure who shared the pictures, but this bussy bloke was seen at Albert Park cheering on the mob in a violent rage against Posie and her posse of mostly middle-aged women, many of us mothers naturally concerned about child safeguarding. No wonder we must be silenced and smeared as the haters. Good on Winston for standing up for sanity against the bullshit. How will the left ever recover this profound loss of face, integrity and substance? I do despair.