Whaleoil closes
 

https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/01-08...-nz-2005-2019/

https://whaleoil.co.nz/

Honestly not surprised, that website has been in decline for sometime now, especially since Dirty Politics was released, and I think the stroke he has last year probably didn't help things either.

Whale Oil is dead, long live Whale Oil?

The meat company is still running though.
https://whalemeat.co.nz/

They done fucked up

https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/05...appropriation/

https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/0...-juana-atkins/

Back in the dim dark mists of history when blogs were a thing I had Whaleoil.co.nz in the NZ section of my feed reader and checked the headlines every morning. Occasionally stories broke there well before the trad media outlets even knew about them. I occasionally contributed witty and erudite comments on articles and once upon a time I even got quoted in a story, lol.

Over time the site became unpleasant, it became less news and more clickbait and more personal attacks, and eventually became too toxic to be worth my time. I eventually got banned for comments I made on an immunisation article, turns out Slater and his wife are antivaxers. Knowing now how genuinely poisonous Slater and his operation were, I feel kind of dirty and hope we've seen the last of them all.

Can anyone name a domestic organisation that has done more damage to NZ society?

Um, the Church? The Mongrel Mob? Black Power? Mummyblogger antivaxers?

We all fuck our kids, the church isn't special. Slater's influence has gotten plenty of kids fucked that would have otherwise been protected thanks to the free hand he gave the government. The kind of influence the Mongrel Mob & Black Power wish they had. They'd be grateful to Slater if they understood the pool of desperate people that gangs depend on to exploit that's grown from his influence.

Anti-vaxxers aren't exactly an organisation. It's more people independently reaching similar conclusions in an environment where truth is an annoyance at best. The environment Slater and his crew thrives in, works to perpetuate.

Remind me what Slater did again?

Toxic PR and politics.

I'm still missing something. How did he damage NZ society?

By running a platform for toxic political agendas for 15 years. Toxic politics which allowed toxic politicians to get away with bullshit. The end consequence being the lives of ordinary New Zealanders being come difficult, circumstances often grim to begin with. By ordinary I mean the majority who enjoy a minority of NZ's resources.

Of course, I suppose someone like GT might reframe that as enabling bold politicians to serve the most deserving of New Zealanders.

Still not seeing any damage to society. He damaged people’s reputations and lives, for which the courts have rightly held him responsible. But being responsible for the greatest damage to NZ society? Please. He was a blogger.

Because politics is a form of competitive entertainment that doesn't impact anyone's lives, except the performers?

Well Nationals time as Govt. has certainly been devastating for a lot of vulnerable NZers. Basically they allowed population increases to drive an illusory GDP while ignoring the strain this was creating on infrastructure, housing, education, health, environment and public services. All while demonizing those at the bottom using them as scapegoats.

From this the argument is that dirty politics played a role in Nationals success and Slater was definitely a key player. Though to what extent Slater's influence would be difficult to quantify.

Your claims:

National's time as Govt was devastating for a lot of vulnerable NZers

"dirty politics" played a role in National's success (at what?)

Slater was a key player (in "dirty politics")


The first claim rings true (without any analysis). The third claim is clearly true. The second? I don't see any evidence for it and I'm not even sure what the "success" is. Maybe the fact that Whaleoil revealed WInston Peters had been meeting Kim Dotcom before an election had some influence, but so it should have. That's public-interest stuff.

Slater's hacked correspondence contained the revelation that Judith Collins had tried to undermine the head of the SFO and she was forced to resign. That was bad for National.

Yes, it's my assertion that Slater made possible by way of his toxic political platform changes to New Zealand society that would have been more difficult to achieve due to public outcry.

Dirty Politics is only a subset of this behaviour. Dirty Politics also proved that being right wasn't enough. Nicky Hager copped far more disdain than anyone else involved.

Slater's platform set the stage for this very scene: politicians only ever engage in wrongdoing if they are caught red handed, or are a political opponent. Otherwise it should be assumed that any politician is acting with absolute virtue. Only the jealous who support other parties would disagree.

You just need to compare who is calling out what in the different political threads. National gets a pass selling seats to foreign influence. Labour cops it for trying to weed out inappropriate sexual behaviour.

OK so let me unpack this so I'm clear - your argument, and correct me if I'm wrong, is:

- New Zealand society has changed for the worse.

- This change was made possible by the activities of "Whaleoil" (Slater's blog and the people he worked with).

- The magnitude of the change has been so great and so negative and so directly attributable to Whaleoil that it is the organisation that has done the greatest damage to New Zealand society in history.


I just don't see it. I see Whaleoil as having had precisely zero impact on NZ society. I can't see a single thing that Whaleoil has done that has had a legislative or policy outcome that affects NZ in any way at all.

Not quite

It's not so much about what was possible, but rather degrees of impact, choices of direction.

My question about organisations that have done harm was not a statement. I can immediately think of an organisation that has done greater harm: The New Zealand government. Unless when you imagine New Zealand society you imagine white people. There are no doubt other organisations.

Everyone impacts society. If you're saying Slater had zero impact, I can only think you mean in the abstract sense of: society impacts us <-> we impact society. I.E. no one impacts anything, what is happening is just happening. This very conversation is an illusion.

Keep in mind Ab, I live here. And I muck about with those who are struggling. I don't play happy families like many do here.

You're still doing the whole "the only reality is official reality". Explicit legislative changes and policy decisions. Maybe from your elevated position that's true. Not where I live.

How have those struggling people that you muck around with been affected by the Whaleoil blog?

Are you looking for some kind of "Whaleoil published this opinion, which generated this interest, which encouraged these people to speak up and those to pipe down, which contributed to these kinds of decisions, which resulted in these people having to face these news problems or lose these supports"?

You're wanting that kind of investigation from me?

Just trying to understand what damage the blog has done to society.

:D

[a few moments earlier]

I'm not sure what you're trying to elicit here.

Is it that you can't see how Slater was able to achieve anything. His work ultimately being for naught? You want me to somehow demonstrate impact?

Or is it his work was abstract from society? I'm overrepresenting or completely wrong about the politic significance of his platform. Politicians didn't need to consider the tools he had demonstrated ability and willingness to use when exercising their authority?

It's my assertion that the changes to NZ this last decade were on balance harmful, I think that's well established. I accept others will see the changes in a different light.

I do wonder what you think Slater hoped to achieve with his "journalism". I wish my opinion of him was as low as yours.

Hey, I gotta preserve what braincells I have. I can't afford to abuse them with an hour of Joe Rogan.

I don't think he hoped to achieve anything. What he was doing was what he wanted to achieve, just more of it. The dude's not right in the head.

Ahaha shot

That must be a new thing, the (old) Whaleoil site was down when I tried it earlier.
I see his wife launched another site, but one commentary I read said it was doubtful it would be as popular or hold the same amount of sway the (former) Whaleoil site held in its heyday.

Yeah, having Collins on speed dial doesn't come with the perks it used to.

Maybe he wasn't the one with any intention, it was catharsis on his part. What was built around him, with the help of those who I guess must have seen some application for Slater's particular brand of madness, was a tool that was effectively put to use.

DanylMc:

Farewell to Whaleoil, hate machine of the blogosphere

God that new site of theirs is slow. Who the hell would pay for that kind of hosting when it takes a minute to load the fairly basic front page (and this is on a fibre connection too)?

Hopefully it was an LTD and the company doesn't exist, so m0f0 gets nothing.

I know Cameron, I worked in the same building, he's a greasy fuckwit, but hundreds of thousands of dollars seems a stupid amount for a guy with mental health and personal issues to spend because he got offended by something someone said which 'wasn't true'.

Like if someone said "DrTiTus smashes infants heads after an abortion with a hammer", it's obviously offensive, but I don't so who cares?


When you end up in court, it's basically a case of "please let them believe me"

Anyway, I'm drunk, and I don't like Cam, but I know he's a person, so my contribution adds something but is not intended to be the final say.