“Playing with the Truth”: The Key to Fact-Checking in the Acute Geopolitical Landscape of the Pacific Rim

Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka (right) and Fiji’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Ratu Inoke Kubuabola (right). The man pictured in the center is a serving New Zealand Police Dignity Service officer.
Photo: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis

Escalating geopolitics between China and the United States is fueling existing xenophobic rhetoric, says an expert on Pacific geopolitics.

This follows Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s recent visit to Aotearoa on 18-19 October, during which he met Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and attended Fiji Day celebrations in Mangere.

In photographs released by Rabuka’s team from the event on Saturday, he was seen with Asian Kiwi men who were part of his security detail.

However, a well-known Pacific journalist (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Pacificnewsroom/posts/1653162928603870/ shared these photos on Pacific Newsroom A Facebook page claiming that Rabuka was accompanied by what appeared to be Chinese private security.

“Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka showed up in New Zealand with an unusual collection of what appeared to be private Chinese security,” Michael Field, the page’s New Zealand editor, wrote on Sunday.

“Because they (Asian Kiwis) are featured in many photographs, some of them were very close during his visit to Mangere.

“Certainly Rabuka has no intention of insulting Samoa by turning up at CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) with these same Praetorian Guards.”

His post prompted comments from some followers such as “this is so wrong”, “what’s wrong with Rabuka having kung fu and karate boys” and “pictures don’t lie”.

Other commenters questioned Field’s intention in publishing the post, with one saying: “You seem to be making fun of the Prime Minister. Go and ask the New Zealand government who chooses its security force. Your post is very childish in many ways.”

As of Tuesday, Field has disabled comments on his post, but he remains online to Pacific Newsroom 72,000 subscribers.

A seasoned senior journalist in Fiji also took to social media to question the identity of security officials.

“The video shows three Asian men providing personal security for the Prime Minister, alongside his own Fiji close security officer and a New Zealand police officer. Who were these Asians? They have a red pin on their jackets, and one of them has an ID card visible on it. of them,” writes Aneesh Chand.

“If this is the New Zealand Police, then it is pure coincidence that three officers of Asian descent were appointed to protect our Prime Minister. If they weren’t the police, what were they?”

However, New Zealand Police and the Fiji High Commissioner to New Zealand confirmed to RNZ Pacific that the security team was provided by Aotearoa and not China.

“New Zealand Police do not normally comment on security matters, however we can confirm that the man in the photograph is an active-duty New Zealand Police Dignity Protection Services (DPS) officer who provided support during the visit of the Prime Minister of Fiji,” a police spokesman told RNZ Pacific .

The Fiji High Commission in New Zealand released a statement on Monday saying: “It is unfortunate that some members of the media have resorted to racist language in relation to photographs of two New Zealanders who were members of the security force.

“The two gentlemen in question were part of a larger team that included members of cross-section of New Zealand society.”

RNZ Pacific has contacted Field and Chand for comment.

“The geopolitical environment plays a role”

Massey University Center for Defense and Security Studies Associate Professor Dr Anna Powles said there was growing division on social media and a need for fact-checking.

“It is incredibly significant that the Fiji High Commission in Wellington has issued a statement thanking the New Zealand government for ensuring the safety of Prime Minister Rabuka,” she said.

According to Dr. Pauwels, this is completely unprecedented.

Photo: Delivered

“What we’re seeing is an increase in divisions through comments on social media, through the type of misinformation and disinformation that spreads like wildfire on social media,” Pauwels added.

“And without a doubt, this heightened geopolitical environment certainly plays a role here.”

She called on the media and academics to ensure they check facts before printing, broadcasting or publishing them to their audiences.

“Because the stakes are actually quite high, and social media is notorious for playing fast and loose with the truth.”