Community Engagement Report for developing a National Action Plan Against Racism Tangata Tiriti participants discussed the transnational nature of racism, with a particular focus on the impact and potential that mainstream and social media have on racism. This included the way in which ethnic groups and individuals were represented on screen, often portrayed in negative and stereotypical ways. One participant commented: Larger rhetoric of racism in media should be addressed and stamped out – for example terrorism belongs to Muslims or diseases to Chinese, gangs or crime related to refugees/Somalis. Participants discussed how mainstream media and news reports, in particular, perpetuated bias. Several participants took issue with media using misleading headlines to portray certain ethnic groups negatively. One participant stated: “Aotearoa NZ as free of racism is when ethnicity is not used as a headline. Where stereotypes are not underlying.” Similarly, several participants urged for media to remove references to race/ ethnicity in general, with one participant commenting: “Media always says when another ethnicity commits a crime but not Pākehā. We never say it was a New Zealander who murdered someone, media puts ethnicity first.” The importance of increasing diverse representation in the media was raised by many participants. Those who discussed this issue noted how mainstream media is disseminated through a Pākehā lens, which often fails to amplify the voices of minority groups. Such participants urged for media to become more diverse so as to truly and accurately represent all communities in Aotearoa, not simply the dominant ones. New Zealand Human Rights Commission Many participants identified that social media and other online spaces allowed and facilitated the spread of hate and was subject to little regulation. One participant commented: Facebook is a breeding ground for hate speech and racism, and that's only one social media platform. Australia has laws about hate speech on social media platforms. It's about time this country followed suit. There is no freedom of speech without consequence – currently you can be as racist and as hateful as you desire on this platform. Several participants called for government to take an active role in regulating hate speech in online spaces, and for there to be harsher punishments and enforcement measures for those who engage in racist rhetoric online. One participant suggested government should “have laws where people are punished for being racist both in person or offline (workplace laws, online laws, laws for out in the public)”. Other participants urged for websites which include or incite hate speech to be removed or suspended. Many participants suggested there should be journalistic guidelines and media training to prevent journalists from fueling racist narratives. One participant called for: Better training of and regulation of our journalists. Journalists in New Zealand aren’t sufficiently ethnically diverse nor are they cross-culturally capable. As a result, the news media and current affairs media remains heavily written from a Pākehā or Māori lens, not from other marginalised cultural groups. 75