Kiwis have mocked overseas critics of New Zealand's COVID-19 response after commentators spouted inaccurate claims of life in quarantine facilities.
Far-right British politician Suzanne Evans wrote on Twitter earlier this week that New Zealand was operating a "fascist government" under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The tweet, which called on Amnesty International to act, shared a post describing New Zealand's MIQ hotels as "quarantine camps" and claimed that Kiwis can be "forcibly removed" if they are deemed a risk to others in their households.
Since Auckland's August outbreak, all those who've tested positive in the community have been placed in quarantine facilities, unless they've been able to arrange a suitable alternative.
Then on Wednesday, Fox News host Laura Ingraham claimed the country's "terrifying new" quarantine measures are the "end of personal freedom".
"They're throwing people into quarantine camps," she told viewers, before the station played a four-month-old Facebook video of Ardern saying, "if someone refuses in our facilities, to be tested, they have to keep staying".
What the outlet didn't show was the Prime Minister was talking about returning New Zealanders and how they must undertake a 14-day self-isolation period in a hotel upon their arrival in the country.
In the video, posted well before the country's Auckland outbreak, Ardern goes on to explain that overseas returnees are required to be tested for COVID-19 around days three and 12 of their stays and must return a negative test before leaving.
- New Zealand's 'go hard and go early' COVID-19 response 'unprecedented internationally'
- Hundreds of yachties blocked from seeking refuge in New Zealand as cyclone season approaches
- Hollywood stars try to dodge isolation rules on entering New Zealand
- Kiwi expats sending Human Rights Commission complaint over proposed user-pays managed isolation
The remarks prompted Kiwis to take to Twitter, where they described what life is like in the pandemic in New Zealand using the hashtags #NZHellHole and #NZCovidCamps.
#NZHellHole was previously used in August after US President Donald Trump took repeated swings at New Zealand's COVID-19 response, prompting some of his supporters to believe this country is a "hellhole".
Auckland Councillor Richard Hills tweeted a photo of a room at Auckland's "very nice" M Social, which is being used as a managed isolation hotel.
"Hey world: This is one of our inhumane quarantine camps. Please don't tell the UN."
Another Twitter user shared a video of the crowd at Eden Park during the All Blacks v Wallabies rugby game in Auckland last week.
"Anyone else attend the fascist rally in Auckland last week? So fascisty fascist," they said.
One person jokingly asked the user if the video showed "50,000 people incarcerated in a large COVID camp", to which they replied: "If you look really, really closely we're all holding up tiny signs that say 'rescue me'."
One user shared a photo of a person in a zorb travelling down a hill, and labelled these a "solitary confinement cage".
"The cruel guards roll you down the hill and laugh while you scream," they wrote.
Another tweeted a video showing two people skateboarding in a park, and said: "Apparently we in the gulag whānau (sic)."
Green Party co-leader James Shaw also criticised Ingraham for her comments, saying the "quarantine camp" speculation was "complete nonsense". He added the narrative had been "fanned up by Fox News which doesn't really warrant the phrase news outlet".
