SIS were right to investigate

Stuff reports:

The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) launched its own investigation into concerns that RNZ had been used for foreign interference.

The SIS became involved in 2023 over a scandal at the state broadcaster when it was revealed stories about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were being edited to reflect a more “pro-Kremlin” perspective.

The SIS concluded that foreign interference was not a concern when the journalist, Michael Hall, edited “wire copy” from Reuters. Its findings were shared with “interested parties”, and released to the public on Thursday.

The SIS were right to investigate, as the deliberate alteration of numerous stories to reflect Russian propaganda was a huge concern.

But it turned out that Hall was in no way a Russian mole. He was just a anti-western journalist inserting his viewpoint into RNZ stories.