The Standard’s ten most commented on posts in 2018

The ten most commented posts of 2018 were …

Tenth with 339 comments was this post analysing how badly National wanted and needed Kiwibuild to fail.

National badly wants Kiwibuild to crash

Ninth was this post announcing the end of Bill English’s parliamentary career.

Bill is gone. Free for all spectator time

Eighth was this post on Lauren Southern.  There was a vigorous debate about how far freedom of speech should stretch.

The extent of the right to free speech

Seventh was this post speculating on who actually leaked Simon Bridges’ travel expenses.  This was probably the most talked about topic in New Zealand political circles this year and a number of posts on the subject engaged considerable discussion.

Which National MP leaked Bridges’ expense details?

Sixth was a post by a new writer Koreropono on pulling teeth for poverty.  It was strongly written and deserved the attention it received.

Pulling Teeth For Poverty

Fifth was this post on Paula Bennett’s opening up of the use of personal dirt on MPs for political advantage.  Her decision potentially sets a very damaging precedent that she and others hope is not followed.

Mutually assured destruction

And we still do not know what happened about the $100,000 donation to National to apparently get someone associated with the Chinese Government selected as a National MP.

Fourth was this post about the decision of a Warkworth cake maker to refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.  The post simply presented both arguments, did not express a view and invited people to express their own opinions.  Many did.

Cake makers and fascists

Third was this post on how National was trying to suggest that everything was awesome in their party. The title was inspired by the recent Lego movie with the thought of National’s cheer squad singing at the top of their voices the theme song.

Everything is awesome

Second was this post Russian to Judgment suggesting that the conclusion that Russia had poisoned dissident Sergei Skripal had all the hallmarks of a false flag operation.

Russian to Judgment

The winner was this post analysing the media treatment of Clare Curran’s problems with news that there was raw sewerage coming out of the wall of a Middlemore Hospital building and that Kim Dotcom has been awarded damages against the Government for a breach of his rights.

The manufacturing of a narrative

Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress