Those wild rumours during/after cyclone Gabrielle

[Lilith7]

There were rumours of 'hundreds of deaths' having occurred during the cyclone from various sources; quite a bit has been traced to this chap, Tim Baker.

That he runs a mental health charity is slightly alarming.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3008195...aths-began

ÔÇ£Eleven dead?ÔÇØ the man says to the camera, shaking his head in disbelief.

ÔÇ£My [source] reckons more like a thousand, maybe more.ÔÇØ

In online videos, Baker ÔÇô who runs a mental health charity and achieved brief online notoriety for selling Donald Trump-themed toilet paper ÔÇô became an on-the-ground witness to the carnage. He posted daily reports on his Facebook page, and was interviewed by┬áCounterspin Media┬áand┬áLiz Gunn, videos that have been viewed tens of thousands of times combined.

His reports included an intriguing claim, attributed to two unnamed people he said had ÔÇ£very high roles in emergency servicesÔÇØ: The death toll was much higher than what was officially reported.

It started with his first video on February 21, around a week after the cyclone had passed.

ÔÇ£From the stories IÔÇÖve heard so far, the death toll is a lot higher... the┬á11 weÔÇÖre being told┬áis not accurate,ÔÇØ Baker said.

ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre not rumours, guys.┬áThe morgue┬áis full at Hastings hospitalÔǪ the makeshift morgue at Napier port is full. TheyÔÇÖve run out of body bags, okay?ÔÇØ he said in one video.

ÔÇ£This is the truth, and itÔÇÖs not my intention to scare anyone or hurt anyone.ÔÇØ

While the rumours started soon after the cyclone passed, they kicked into gear around February 20.

The Daily Telegraph - a New Zealand news aggregating website - published a story based on what it said was an interview with a helicopter pilot.

ÔÇ£IÔÇÖve seen hundreds of dead bodies,ÔÇØ the pilot, who is not identified, reportedly said.

The Brian Tamaki-associated Freedoms & Rights Coalition shared the story on Facebook. Its page has 55,000 followers.

That same day, another Facebook post ÔÇô titled DEAD BODIES MOUNT UP ÔÇô claimed a death toll of more than 2000: ÔÇ£This is NZÔÇÖs worst disaster by a factor of 10,ÔÇØ it said.┬á

On February 25, Ickonic ÔÇô a website associated with the British conspiracy theorist David Icke ÔÇô broadcast an interview with New Zealand content creator Lingo Lewi.

ÔÇ£We canÔÇÖt even fathom how many bodies there are,ÔÇØ Lingo Lewi said.

A common charge against the mainstream media in these communities is that itÔÇÖs sensationalistic and obsessed with climate change. The ÔÇÿunreported death tollÔÇÖ theory supposes the same media has done the opposite: Downplayed a natural disaster that can plausibly be linked to┬áclimate change."

[C_T_Russell]

It was Tims video where I first heard of it, his sources seemed trustworthy going by what he was saying.

[Kenj]

There were rumours of 'hundreds of deaths' having occurred during the cyclone from various sources; quite a bit has been traced to this chap, Tim Baker.

That he runs a mental health charity is slightly alarming.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3008195...aths-began

ÔÇ£Eleven dead?ÔÇØ the man says to the camera, shaking his head in disbelief.

ÔÇ£My [source] reckons more like a thousand, maybe more.ÔÇØ

In online videos, Baker ÔÇô who runs a mental health charity and achieved brief online notoriety for selling Donald Trump-themed toilet paper ÔÇô became an on-the-ground witness to the carnage. He posted daily reports on his Facebook page, and was interviewed by┬áCounterspin Media┬áand┬áLiz Gunn, videos that have been viewed tens of thousands of times combined.

His reports included an intriguing claim, attributed to two unnamed people he said had ÔÇ£very high roles in emergency servicesÔÇØ: The death toll was much higher than what was officially reported.

It started with his first video on February 21, around a week after the cyclone had passed.

ÔÇ£From the stories IÔÇÖve heard so far, the death toll is a lot higher... the┬á11 weÔÇÖre being told┬áis not accurate,ÔÇØ Baker said.

ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre not rumours, guys.┬áThe morgue┬áis full at Hastings hospitalÔǪ the makeshift morgue at Napier port is full. TheyÔÇÖve run out of body bags, okay?ÔÇØ he said in one video.

ÔÇ£This is the truth, and itÔÇÖs not my intention to scare anyone or hurt anyone.ÔÇØ

While the rumours started soon after the cyclone passed, they kicked into gear around February 20.

The Daily Telegraph - a New Zealand news aggregating website - published a story based on what it said was an interview with a helicopter pilot.

ÔÇ£IÔÇÖve seen hundreds of dead bodies,ÔÇØ the pilot, who is not identified, reportedly said.

The Brian Tamaki-associated Freedoms & Rights Coalition shared the story on Facebook. Its page has 55,000 followers.

That same day, another Facebook post ÔÇô titled DEAD BODIES MOUNT UP ÔÇô claimed a death toll of more than 2000: ÔÇ£This is NZÔÇÖs worst disaster by a factor of 10,ÔÇØ it said.┬á

On February 25, Ickonic ÔÇô a website associated with the British conspiracy theorist David Icke ÔÇô broadcast an interview with New Zealand content creator Lingo Lewi.

ÔÇ£We canÔÇÖt even fathom how many bodies there are,ÔÇØ Lingo Lewi said.

A common charge against the mainstream media in these communities is that itÔÇÖs sensationalistic and obsessed with climate change. The ÔÇÿunreported death tollÔÇÖ theory supposes the same media has done the opposite: Downplayed a natural disaster that can plausibly be linked to┬áclimate change."

 He's in the finance sector. I think he is a merchant banker? 

[king1]

What a gullible fool he is...

[Praktica]

It was Tims video where I first heard of it, his sources seemed trustworthy going by what he was saying.

Really? No wonder you peddle crap on here!

[Lilith7]

What a gullible fool he is...

Spreading untruthful bollocks at such a time was both naïve & unbelievably foolish. He surely must have realised that such 'news' would be likely to cause extreme anguish across the country especially for those with family or friends who were out of contact.

[Olive]

Naive and foolish, mainly attention-seeking to a sociopathic level. I would say "childish" except that I don't think many children are that stupid.

[nzoomed]

What a gullible fool he is...

Spreading untruthful bollocks at such a time was both naïve & unbelievably foolish. He surely must have realised that such 'news' would be likely to cause extreme anguish across the country especially for those with family or friends who were out of contact.

Blows me away how people can fabricate such crap and get away with it for so long.
He has taken people for a ride and caused distress.
Are his sources truly emergency services like he claims? I doubt it.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Except looking at some of the film and still images from those days, it is amazing we escaped with so few fatalities. Perhaps it is our first world status, maybe if we hadn't had that we might have seen a very different outcome.

I can't comment beyond the obvious on media motivations, but I think we were lucky this time round. And I think the authorities know it.