“However, obviously they would argue that clearly, the reasonable person would see the advertisement and realise that it is satire. Regarding the disclaimer on the advert’s website saying it was “satire or parody”, Chamberlain said the success of any legal action Luxon or National took against the advertiser would depend on how prominent the disclaimer was. “It’s been published, and clearly it’s not true, so in that respect, he potentially could have a defamation course of action.”Ĭhamberlain said, though, there was a tort - or civil wrong - relating to the “misappropriation of likeness” available in other countries’ legal systems but not New Zealand’s.

Senior University of Auckland law lecturer Nikki Chamberlain gave similar advice, and explained further: “The defamation course of action is essential saying that by using his image, there is an innuendo there that he is endorsing business on the pornography website. “For example, order the material to be taken down or order the person responsible to apologise to you,” Carey said. “Under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, if you’ve suffered serious emotional distress because of online material, you can apply to the District Court for it to take action to fix the problem. Other areas of law, such as intellectual property and defamation could also be relevant, he said. What recourse does Luxon have?īrent Carey, the chief executive of New Zealand’s online safety watchdog Netsafe, said people could report image-based abuse to them at Netsafe and they would follow up with the content host or website service provider to investigate whether it breached the law.Ĭarey said if the matter couldn’t be resolved between parties through mediation, people could make a civil complaint to the District Court.

The scam included fake screenshots of articles claiming to be written by the Herald. It came on the back of chef and entrepreneur Simon Gault’s weight loss supplement scam in which multiple posts circulated on social media using his image. Reti said the advertisements are fake and his office has contacted Facebook, which is looking into the matter. There is a solution, but it’s not for everyone.”

Scammers posted an image of the National politician and doctor alongside a caption attributed to him: “Shane Reti: nail fungus infects the blood and causes necrosis. More recently, Health Minister Shane Reti distanced himself from a fake nail fungal remedy advert that claimed he was endorsing their formula and insisted Facebook took down the content. In 2017, former prime minister John Key voiced his outrage that Facebook was refusing to pull posts linking to a fake New Zealand Herald website in which Key was purported to endorse Bitcoin. Former PMs Jacinda Ardern and John Key Shane Reti, Simon Gault’s likenesses used in scams, deepfakesĬoncern over scams and deepfakes involving prominent Kiwis hit headlines two years ago when then-prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s image was manipulated in a video to make it appear she was smoking methamphetamine. The page creators have been approached for comment. Details of who owns the site’s domain have been redacted on the grounds of privacy.

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