As I have said before I am no fan of Candace Owens. I think she is a grifter who peddles conspiracy theories and has promoted many deeply anti-semitic things.
But if enough New Zealanders wish to pay money to hear from her, they should be able to do so. The decision by Immigration NZ prevents them from being able to do so.
As a matter of reality, these bans will actually make her more popular and amplifier her views even more. I would much rather have her at a live public event where she can be challenged and have to respond, than have more people subscribing to her podcasts (which are broadcast only) because of the bans.
And while I don’t like her views, she is far from a fringe figure. She has interviewed one on one the President-Elect of the United States. Her YouTube channel has over 3 million subscribers and almost half a billion views. On Instagram she has over 5 million followers, Twitter 6 million and almost a many on Facebook. That is more than the entree NZ media combined.
Banning Candace Owens doesn’t hurt her. It is wonderful for her – she gets to be the victim. It gets her more and more followers. It makes her voice more powerful.
I hope Owens appeals the ban, and if it goes to a Minister they make a decision that treats NZers as adults, not children.
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