Fear: New Zealand's hostile underworld of extremists

by Byron Clark

Review by Sara Passmore

Having been a follower of Byron Clark since I became aware of his work exploring Aotearoa New Zealand's far-right and alt-right extremism landscape, I have had this book on pre-order for a few months, and have been looking forward to cracking the spine and getting stuck in. While Aotearoa has a long history of far-right groups operating at the edges, what was new, that emerged following the horrific Christchurch terrorist attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre and during the COVID-19 response, was something that we'd not seen before in our country. Fringe groups coordinating with each other, increased reach through online channels, faster cycles of the widespread adoption of conspiratorial ideas, and increased media attention as the movement created its local “influencers”.

Clark, in this detailed and readable coverage of the phenomenon as it unfolded, puts his historical research background to good use. He shows the links from the early adherents to fringe views, tracking their participation in perpetuating mis- and dis-information, through to the parliamentary ground occupations, and beyond - to the pivot we're now seeing against measures to combat the climate emergency.

This book doesn't pull its punches when it comes to showing us who the main players in the farce are, and their motivations and drivers for creating political and social chaos. As a reader I came away with insights into the minds of the grifters in this game, and their use of narratives to manipulate people into extremist positions. The allegory of the frog in the pot being brought to boil comes to mind. While most of us have the good sense to jump out when we become aware of our situation, others seem to double down, wallowing in a stew of mis- and dis-information, conspiracy theories, and fear and hate-mongering.

Clark is an independent video essayist, disinformation researcher and commentator. He's also a great writer.

ISBN: 9781775542308

ISBN 10: 1775542300

Imprint: HarperCollins NZ

Pages: 336

RRP:$39.99 NZD

Release date: 2023-02-15

Paperback and eBook