Facebook ‘Listening’ Costs Taxpayer Quarter Of A Million
“The Government spent almost a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayers money monitoring your social media to form its Covid response,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Last week it was revealed a company commissioned by the Government has been monitoring social media comments about the Covid-19 response for almost two years, reporting back every four days.
“Now ACT can reveal it cost Kiwis $234,693.50. New Zealanders are doing it tough through this cost of living crisis. While Kiwi families are tightening their belts, it’s clear the Government isn’t doing the same.
“We have been told that the Jacinda Ardern ‘followed the science’ through the COVID pandemic but, as time goes on, we learn it was actually the political science.
“MIQ caused untold human misery and carried on well past its use-by date. We now know the Government was told MIQ wasn’t necessary from November, did they keep it based on social media listening?
“ACT pointed out at the time that if people who’d tested positive for COVID were able to isolate at home, it made no sense for people arriving from overseas to suffer MIQ. It was totally unfair for the thousands who missed out on a spot and couldn’t even do that.
“One can only suspect the Government kept MIQ for months of extra misery because they thought doing the right thing would be unpopular. It’s pathetic.
“If the Government ignored public health advice and kept MIQ based on social media listening, then what was the real purpose of social media listening? Was it to reinforce the public health response, or protect Labour’s political interests?
“Throughout the pandemic, ACT has released comprehensive policy papers based on balancing all aspects of human wellbeing. That is what the Government should have been balancing, but they did not. It appears their main priority was Labour’s political wellbeing.
“It’s time for the Government to stop this wasteful spending, it can start by following ACT’s Alternative Budget for Real Change that would reduce wasteful spending by $5.3 billion in 2023.”
The WPQ can be found here:
Portfolio:
COVID-19 Response (Hon Chris
Hipkins)
Question: How much
funding has Annalect received to date, if any, to provide
Social Listening Reports?
Reply: I
am advised that the Annalect reports were first commissioned
by the Department of the Prime Minster and Cabinet (DPMC) in
April 2020 following the first national lockdown. They were
commissioned through OMD, the media buying agency for the
COVID-19 response. DPMC did not contract Annalect directly
during 2020 or 2021. In compiling these reports, analysts
used the tool Brandwatch Consumer Research to observe
prominent themes regarding the COVID-19 Response, analysing
social and digital news content on public channels in New
Zealand. The data analysed is already available in the
public arena. It is from publicly visible posts and comments
on public Facebook pages, Twitter, Reddit and other public
blogs and forums in New Zealand. No names were included in
the reporting compiled by Annalect to ensure the privacy of
those commenting. The only very occasional exception might
be if the comment was made by a recognised expert in a
public forum. All work was done in New Zealand, by New
Zealand-based analysts. Analysis was undertaken on the most
current topics relating to COVID-19, for example: setting
changes, new variants, vaccinations and health behaviours.
It also included analysis on issues of ongoing concern to
the response, such as mental health and domestic violence.
As the pandemic response evolved, tools such as this enabled
the COVID-19 Group to be agile and adapt communications to
address the questions and concerns of New Zealanders. I am
advised that the analysis compiled by Annalect has also
helped measure the success of the Unite against COVID-19
communications and public information campaign as it sought
to keep New Zealanders informed through the different phases
of the response. It provided valuable insights into the
impact of pandemic restrictions, New Zealanders’
acceptance of them and their willingness to carry out
COVID-19 related health behaviours. These insights have been
important in ensuring the safety of our communities and
maintaining the public trust that is required for an
effective response. It enabled the COVID-19 Group to
identify if there were gaps in public understanding of
announcements and restrictions so tailored communications
could be developed to meet those needs. I am advised that
DPMC incurred expenses of $133,894.50 for
the procurement of 58 social media analysis reports for the
2020/21 financial year, and $100,799.00 for
the procurement of 92 reports in the current financial year
as at April 2022. DPMC has now stopped commissioning
Annalect
reports.