The report for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) called on the government to establish a civil-society-led institution which would conduct social media analysis with a focus on disinformation.
The 2019 Christchurch terror attacks and pandemic-related disinformation, including the occupation of parliament, were cited as driving demand for increased analysis of publicly available internet communications.
The report argues the institute needs to sit outside of government and existing institutions.
Because a minority of users were responsible for a majority of disinformation, identifying and monitoring key influencers was highlighted as a potential option for providing an accurate, timely and resource-efficient read on relevant disinformation narratives.
However, the report warns against this approach as it could amount to domestic surveillance, bolster persecution narratives and be inconsistent with international human rights norms.
"It may be that the Government wishes to make the case for conducting such monitoring by agencies without a law enforcement function, however it is critical that agencies performing such monitoring make that case directly and do not edge into unlawful or unjustified surveillance under the guise of social media analysis," it says.
Standards of conduct for public servants prohibit them from accessing private groups and even "scrupulously legal and ethical" government social media monitoring would unavoidably attract negative public attention, the report says.
Common research techniques, particularly those employed by academics, were deemed unsuitable for the "high tempo work" needed for informing government operational decisions and guiding public messaging.
While scraping data from social media platforms is accepted in academia, it largely remains in "a legal grey area", the report says.
There is a strong case to be made for establishing a civil-society-led institution, similar to the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab or the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
While the institution might accept government money or have departments as stakeholders, it should remain at arm’s length, the report says.
It should be focused on building a meaningful picture of online communications for operational use, with an advocacy and awareness-raising function informed by its research.
It should also bring in a range of civil groups, backgrounds and skill-sets, including Maori perspectives.
DPMC deputy chief executive national security group Tony Lynch said the advice in the report was under consideration and was commissioned to help understand options for a long-term response to disinformation.
The Government considered it would need to support an approach primarily driven from outside government, where multiple stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, academia and media, built the capability to contribute to a whole of society approach.
"This is due to the complexity of the issue, and to ensure freedom of expression and a free, open and secure internet," Mr Lynch said.
The report, written by Auckland’s Brainbox Institute and received in June, was one of five reports on online disinformation monitoring reports funded as part of the Covid response between April 2021 and October 2022.
Several government agencies already conduct open source intelligence monitoring, including a dedicated police team, which prepared at least one intelligence report on the potential for a significant protest at parliament before the occupation last year.
A Ministry of Health spokesman said its social media channels were monitored for disinformation and a Disinformation Assessment and Response Team was established as part of the country’s Covid immunisation programme, but was disestablished late last year.
"At this stage, we are not actively involved in monitoring social media generally, or the wider internet, for disinformation."
