New Zealand social media influencers who went missing in Iran for four months are safe and well after exiting the country.
Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray were travelling the world in a van and documenting their journey for their hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram under the name Expedition Earth.
MFAT said via a spokeswoman that a couple had received consular assistance in Iran were “out of the country” and were “safe and well”.
Their social profiles were not updated for four months, sparking concerns for their wellbeing.
What the actual fuck is this?
The entire NZ mainstream media all secretly agreed to hide any reference of these two rich wanker social media influencers being detained in Iran for 14 weeks while the Government had to soften our criticism of Iran’s appalling human rights abuses against women not wearing fucking headscarfs?
WHAT THE FUCK MAN?
If these two rich social media influencer wankers weren’t the well connected rich wankers that they are, would we really have had the corporate media self censor themselves while trapping the Government into not criticising Iran?
These two pompous arsehole social media influencers shouldn’t have been in fucking Iran at the time! There was a clear warning not to go there from MFAT and yet they chose to go there for their fucking social media audience!
This is foreign policy by Tic Tok? Instagram Diplomacy?
Why the fuck did the corporate media agree to self censor this story and why did the Government agree to soften their criticism of a deplorable regime for these rich privileged wankers?
What the fuck has been going on here? The media must front and explain themselves for agreeing to self censor and the Prime Minister must now give a bellicose ripping of Iran to pieces now she is not being compelled to pull her punches.
Is there nothing that rich white people can’t achieve? They also dictate media coverage and Government fucking foreign policy now do they?
But ‘they’re just living their best life, namaste’ doesn’t really cut it as a fucking defence does it?
They shouldn’t have been in Iran in the first place, the media self censored themselves because they’re rich & connected & the Government had to pull punches while Iran killed girls for not wearing headscarves.
This is an outrageous abuse of privilege.
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Yes but let’s remember this was done under a Labour Government.
Labour? National? Is there a difference?
Ok then start again.
Jacinda Ardern personally involved in the release.
Was she Bob? I see she replied to questions asked by why does that mean she was personally involved (and if she was and it worked why is that bad)?
The amount of times Bob tells lies, well is infinite.
And so what? Bob the thirsty..
Compare and constrast with trampers who get lost and ripped to shreds, or the guy with full custody who took his kids camping unannounced (who’s since gone missing again, don’t know if we got updates on that).
Still somewhere not missing. If he is home schooling his children not even breaking truancy rules.
There are many reasons why censorship may be imposed, and not all of them are nefarious, or just because the protagonists are rich and white. It’s sometimes advised in kidnap and hostage and similar type situations. I won’t comment on Iran when travellers generally find the people lovely, and governments telling people not to go places can have their own little agendas.
Let those 2 rot in Iran — please do not give them a TVNZ special
oh they will they will. they’ll get a series after fuck boy but before the block prime time nightly
gagarin – Bugger!
Given they very much got themselves in this predicament you’d have to hope a rather large bill for the ‘rescue’ eventuates.
Tbf to the govt they were stuck between a rock and a hard place and imo took the right option to get them out in one peice.
I look forward to our PMs full throated criticism of what’s currently happening in Iran.
Sadly I reckon I’ll be waiting a very long time.
And what happened in the house today?
Martin, thanks for writing this! As a dual Iranian Kiwi citizen, I am burning to ashes after reading the news in Media!
Now, the government wants to say we kept silent over killing of 300s and detain of 2000s because of this couple! Madness…..
Let’s bring another cause “everyone’s life matters” , not just Western people’s life!
What did they give to release them? the barbaric regime which is killing my people on streets raping women protesters and torturing detainees to death?
As is the norm these days the MSM are only publishing what they are told too and in the manner prescribed by the Govt.
55 million dollars takes care of that. Vote Jacinda for free speech and real truths.
Sk its not uncommon practice to request media silence in these cases. Ask the Australians. There is debate over whether it works but it’s got nothing to do with media being in someone’s pocket. Are you looking for a good deal on a tin foil hat?
More lies by the coward Kraut.
Bullshit Peter, absolute bullshit, you’ve fallen hook line and sinker for the right wing media line.
I’m afraid I don’t have enough emotional capital to feel sympathy, or even empathy for the Richwhite and his attachment in that space. Line by line, he’s way down my list of emotional feelings in that space. Ahead of him are a nation of homeless flooded out Pakistanis, ripped off immigrants – the victims of Nu Zull’s policies, one or two or three that identify as femmes struggling for basic recognition of their talents simply looking for equal remuneration……..the ,ist goes on.
Maybe if we can grow the economy under the neoliberal ecosystem they could climb my sympathetic ladder.
“Ultimately”, I suspect pigs will have developed wings and there will be self-driving aircraft to deliver their bacon to muddle class breakfasts and brunches (in that spoce, going forward)
Same with the Milk Spillers in Britain:
Some minimum-wage worker will have to mop all that up after these cretins get the 30-second footage they want to upload to social media. Some shoppers aren’t going to be able to buy any milk to feed their families because someone thought it would serve humanity better as a political statement. The shop will lose out on desperately needed revenue in a recession.
Spoiled Middle-Class little shits who’ll do anything for 30 seconds of TikTok fame.
Herald: “ The aim of the expedition was “to promote environmental issues as well as the teams and organisations that work to resolve them”.
Awesome – fly around the world, drive a coal burning Jeep while promoting ‘environmental issues’.
So the World stands with the women of Iran.
Except for the the NZ MSM who pass up their responsibility to pass on a newsworthy angle at the time the Country is burning down.
Hands weren’t tied either.
Maybe the couple’s were. But probably not. Iran is more clever, Their physical well-being might have been used to shut up our foreign ministry.
The world is a f’ing nightmare these days.
What’s the bet those two come out and go schtum because of fear of being criticized?
Spinoff will be piss’d that they didn’t get the drop on this story!
Who said Labour hasn’t achieved anything: special DJ visas under lockdown, ignoring human rights to look after social media influencers.
They seem have not quite as much time for the “river of filth” they created at home by forcing working class people out of work with vaccination mandates.
The working class got sprinklers and sound weapons turned on them.
Jeez Martyn, I thought you’d be used to our MSM being compliant poodles sitting on the government’s lap. Why are you sounding so surprised?
“Influencers” is the dumbest term I’ve ever heard and it’s used by really dumb people.
By that RosieLee do you mean dumb people that are easily influenced?
I’m absolutely certain Grant Robertson has “no knowledge” of any money changing hands (wink, wink). Last time I checked we had no Iranian prisoners to swap, so whatever might the regime extract in return for the release of the playboy son and daughter-in-law of an Uber-wealthy “businessman”?
Seems like there’s a double helping of hate here for anyone who dares to be wealthy.
“FREE! THE NIPPLE!”
How did they survive not getting the chop with a picture like that in Iran?
So which PR company is spinning this bs?
Really?? FFS……driving thru Iran in an (American) Jeep is like painting a target on your back. Why do they get the time of day???
It’s unknown if the Iranians demanded a financial ransom from richwhite senior (in addition to the NZ foreign policy position) but its almost certain money will have changed hands to the benefit of some powerful persians for to speed this resolution. National and Act apparently have a $5million election war chest – will significant gratitude be shown to Labour?
Also you could assume that the silence from this administration and its MSM in regard to Julian Assange and journalistic freedom must mean some effective work is quietly going on behind the scenes regarding that situation? Or not.
Look like two aholes alright.
But Iran’s internal affairs are Iran’s internal affairs.
Who says the Western crazed gender culture wars are preferable to the way Iran does things?
Is the Iranian regime trying to force their ways on the New Zealand? So why should New Zealand attempt to force our ways on to the Iranians?
Nobody wanted the blame for getting them stoned to death – because that was a real possibility.
But “social media influencer wankers” …that was the banner headline running through my mind when I saw it on the News last night. 🙂
So let me get this straight. Four months of not hearing from these two, who it sounds like everyone couldn’t care less about, and you are complaining! FFS! So if silence is the most effective strategy as to not putting these two in further danger what do you care? They don’t not send search/rescue parties for people who go out in boats when they shouldn’t have, so why argue ‘tough shit you should not gone’?
hey I’m off to iran wearing a bikini and fuck their laws…whatever we think of those laws they are THEIR laws and then be surprised we get pulled up…lucky not to be beaten to death in public but they’ll sell their stories to the press so job done.
I have to question this assertion:
“The entire NZ mainstream media all secretly agreed..”
As a member of said group, I wasn’t privy to any secret agreement, nor had any prior knowledge of this particular situation.
There are these lazy generalisations that all media people are in cahoots, following the same plan or directive, part of some grand scheme or whatever. The truth is quite different.
I get that people are pissed off with some of the most visible media outlets and journalists and the way they cover stuff, but please don’t lump all journalists in with that.
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