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A couple who created a Voices for Freedom (VFF) branch in Dunedin will not say if they have ongoing ties to the group that wants to make New Zealand “ungovernable”.
Tracey Pita is running for the Dunedin City Council and the Saddle Hill community board, while her husband, Watson Pita, is an Otago Regional Council candidate.
Do you know more about Dunedin candidates spreading disinformation? Email sinead.gill@stuff.co.nz
The couple said they would be transparent about their past to anyone who approached them directly but would not partake in an in-person interview with Stuff.
In written statements, the pair said they moved to Dunedin in late 2020. They created a branch of VFF soon after but do not mention this work or their anti-vaccine or anti-mandate beliefs in campaign material.
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“There are many things a person doesn’t mention in their campaign, and they decide what is of value to them and why they are standing,” they said in a statement.
Their candidacies come at a time when a leaked August 9 email from VFF co-founder Claire Deeks revealed the organisation wanted its followers to run for local government but to hide their affiliation from voters.
The Pitas said they stopped being VFF branch co-ordinators on May 31 and submitted their nominations about the day of deadline, August 12.
They did not respond to questions about whether they remained members of VFF or other similar groups.
They said they stopped being co-ordinators for VFF to focus on their consultancy and coaching business, which is described by Tracey Pita on LinkedIn as helping people break from their “food prisons” and control their eating behaviour.
On May 1, before their resignations as coordinators, they featured in a livestream on Facebook where theyand prominent VFF webinar host Muna Lee discussed the need for “freedom fighters” to run in this year’s local elections and next year’s general election.
“Spread the word, whānau … We’re back,” Tracey Pita said in the video. “We know that we can help bring your voice, as much as we want to bring our voice.”
Misinformation shared by the couple online included unfounded claims of “fresh graves” linked to unreported vaccine deaths, a plot to create a one-world government, and the Government “coming for our babies”.
It is not against any election rules to withhold past or present political views, but the couple said they omitted their involvement in VFF in campaign material because people might “misinterpret” it.
They wanted to run because they knew how to build relationships and listen with open hearts, they said.
During and after their work as co-ordinators of the Dunedin VFF branch, the Pitas seemingly facilitated the spread of disinformation in a Facebook group they ran with Lee.
Rather than post disinformation outright themselves, they often framed it as a question, a common tactic used by people who want to maintain plausible deniability.
They hosted interviews, where comments made by guests – such as Donna Pokere-Philips, a political aspirant and spreader of disinformation – were repeated on a rolling banner at the bottom of the video.
“It is concerning the number of ‘fresh graves’ that are appearing,” one banner read.
“The injection has been associated with these deaths,” reads another, referring to data from the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM), which reports all deaths following a vaccine, pending an investigation.
In fact, 170 deaths have been reported to CARM following Covid-19 vaccination. One death was determined by the coroner to be the result of myocarditis following a first dose. Two others were likely.
There have been some 2000 deaths where the virus was the primary cause or contributing factor.
“They are now aiming for our kids – what can we do?” another text line reads.
A December 10 post from Tracey Pita links to an article about the paediatric vaccine roll-out.
“They ARE coming for our babies… No! No! No! You will NOT – we will NEVER let you do this!!” she wrote.
Vaccines have never been required for children.
*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Pitas resigned as Voices For Freedom coordinators on March 31, 2022. The correct date is May 31. (Amended 10.34am, September 15, 2022)
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