BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary

[This summary does not form part of the decision.] 

The Authority has upheld a complaint that an episode of The Key of David, which discussed biblical prophecies and recent events as indicating Germans would start World War III, discriminated against and denigrated German people. Noting the repeated descriptions of Germans as ‘war-making’, the strong language (eg ‘hideous beast power from the underground’) and the descriptions of past and anticipated violence, the Authority found the cumulative effect of the comments, in the context, conveyed the high level of condemnation necessary to encourage discrimination or denigration against German people. It also found the comments were capable of embedding negative stereotypes of German people as inherently ‘war-making’ and violent. While acknowledging the standard is not intended to prevent the broadcast of ‘a genuine expression of serious comment, analysis or opinion’, the Authority found the nature of the comments exceeded these boundaries. The Authority did not make any order on the basis: publication is sufficient to publicly notify the breach and to provide guidance to broadcasters; and Sky Free has accepted the decision and taken reasonable action in response.

Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration

No Order

The broadcast 

[1]  The Key of David is a series of religious programmes aired on Sunday mornings which presents biblical teachings and interpretations applied to present-day events.¹ The 20 July 2025 broadcast of The Key of David discussed a recent deployment of German troops in Lithuania,² linking the alliance between Lithuania and Germany to biblical prophecies about the possibility of World War III.

[2]  The host introduced the segment:

Greetings, everyone. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled in Germany and Lithuania today, and it was also prophesied in World War II. The Germans are a great people, but they have caused more wars than any other country in the world. That is their history that they have, and its unparalleled warfare that we need to be aware of.

[3]  The host referenced Germany’s involvement in World Wars I and II and quoted various political and religious figures regarding the risks posed by Germany.

[4]  Relevant excerpts included:

Then [Founder of the Worldwide Church of God] goes on to say, Germany is the economic and military heart of Europe. Without Germany, such a federation of nations is impossible. It’s impossible! And he talked about how the Germans can provide the dynamite and the leadership. Germany is stepping up to take on the role as the European’s heart. It is the European’s heart, and it has the power over all of Europe, certainly economically right now, and even militarily.

…

[They] have started two world wars. That’s the kind of war they have, and they’re headed the same way again, and your Bible says that they are going to be prophesied to start World War III as well. That’s going to happen, and you’ll see it happen before too long if we don’t learn some lessons.

…

And this is what happened in World War II and it’s going to happen again in World War III, and it is going to be much more despicable and hateful and cruel and just violence of all kinds, and a lot of it against the Jews. Notice this. This is shocking if you consider that during World War II the Germans murdered about 90 percent of Lithuanian Jews … Lithuanians carried out violent riots against the Jews both shortly before and immediately after the arrival of German forces. Now, you would think, instead of Germany going back to this – they would be ashamed of that history and would have nothing to do with it! But look what they’re doing! They’re going back and repeating the very same thing they did in World War II, and they’re about to do it again in 20 times greater force, or maybe more than that.

…

The country has been a pariah state, albeit to a decreasing extent, since World War II. It’s been that way because, well, NATO and other powers have kept it that way. But now they’re rising up…

If you look at that 44th Armoured Brigade, they are now in Lithuania and they’re going to stay there permanently! That’s not good news. That tells you that Germany is beginning to reach out and take over another country, and they’re gonna do that to more countries and they are going to lead ten kings! They’re going to cause all kinds of problems in the area surrounding them, and they’re going to start World War III.

…

We can be stopping that if we would look to God and do some repenting in our lives. That’s what we must do! We all need to repent. We’re all sinners, and we need God to help us.

…

That history is despicable! No words can really explain that! It’s that horrendous! Now, here is …Isaiah 10 and verse 5. And it’s primarily a prophecy of the end time. That’s what this whole book is about, the end times, primarily. Verse 5 says, ‘Oh, Assyrian’ – that’s Germany, before they changed their name, but this is Germany before World War I and World War II. That was their name – ‘Oh, Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation. This is God speaking. I will send him against a hypocritical nation.’

…

They have a history of cutting off nations! A whole history like no other country! And we don’t seem to understand that history, but we should. They understood it right after World War II ended and the 60 million people that died, that got their attention for a little while. But not long. Verse 7: ‘Howbeit he means not so, neither does his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations, not a few.’ This is the history of Germany! They don’t think they would do that, but then they get into it and it’s, oh, oh so much worse than what anybody would have expected.

…

… a geopolitical power coming from Germany again. It’s all prophesied in your Bible, and they are going to start World War III, as they did World War II and World War I, and many wars before that! They were into warfare throughout most of their history. Germany has long been first among equals in the European Union, he wrote, and it has been careful to avoid asserting military power.

…

Lithuania is being now permanently ruled by Germany, another country. Well, this is just the start! It’s really the start of a horrifying World War III! It’s all prophesied, and it’s coming from Germany!

…

Put simply, the deployment of Lithuania could presage the re-emergence of Germany as a geopolitical force … this is what [religious leader] proclaimed to us many decades, well, over fifty years. He said that Germany… would be doing everything they can to raise up their power again. They planned it even when they were losing World War II! This is what is facing us. We need to understand that, and God says you’d better take a look at Germany.

[5]  A voiceover concluded the segment by summarising the broadcast and encouraging the subscription to literature offered by the Philadelphia Church of God. Relevant excerpts included:

You were watching the emergence of this hideous beast power from the underground, exactly as the prophet Isaiah foretold thousands of years ago. Study Isaiah’s end-time vision to understand God’s purpose and plan for Germany. These war-making, yet talented and hard-working people have a bright future beyond the dark present. Until then, God is using them as an instrument of correction for the modern descendants of ancient Israel, mainly America, Britain, and the Jews.

…

Watch for Germany to continue initiating military alliances throughout Europe, leading to the prophesied 7th and final rise of the Holy Roman Empire. Germany is now a geopolitical force. So much for keeping them down and unarmed forever. The world around you is upside down. Good is scorned as evil, and evil is praised as good.

The complaint

[6]  Kathryn Jones complained the broadcast breached the discrimination and denigration standard of the Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand by including ‘repeated assertions about Germany’s supposed ambitions to take over the world’ which:

• were ‘[a] slur against the German people’
• were ‘likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons’
• could ‘send a vulnerable or disaffected person “down the rabbit hole” of dangerous misinformation’.

The broadcaster’s response

[7]  Sky Free Ltd (Sky Free) did not uphold the complaint for the following reasons:

• Sky Free acknowledged the complainant’s concerns about the host’s conclusions, ‘but the programme was presented from a particular perspective’.
• ‘The narrative was chiefly built around [the host’s] interpretation of scripture and religious teachings, and we consider it represented a genuine expression of serious comment, analysis or opinion.’
• ‘Three’s Sunday-morning religious programming targets a specific demographic...’
• ‘In the context of religious programming, the audience would have understood that the views being presented were genuinely held beliefs and opinions of the presenter rather than statements of fact.’

The standard

[8]  The purpose of the discrimination and denigration standard (standard 4) is to protect sections of the community from verbal and other attacks, and to foster a community commitment to equality.³ The standard states:⁴

Broadcast content should not encourage discrimination against, or denigration of, any section of the community on account of sex, sexual orientation, race, age, disability, occupational status or as a consequence of legitimate expression of religion, culture or political belief.

Our analysis

[9]  We have watched the broadcast and read the correspondence listed in the Appendix.

[10]  As a starting point, we considered the right to freedom of expression. It is our role to weigh up the right to freedom of expression and the value and public interest in the broadcast, against any harm potentially caused by the broadcast. We may only intervene where the level of harm means that placing a limit on the right to freedom of expression is reasonable and justified.⁵

Whether the standard applies to the broadcast

[11]  The discrimination and denigration standard only applies to recognised ‘sections of the community’, which is consistent with the prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in the Human Rights Act 1993.⁶

[12]  The complainant considers the broadcast encouraged discrimination and denigration against German people. The Authority has previously found the standard may protect citizens of a country from discrimination but does not operate to protect governments.⁷ We considered whether viewers were likely to interpret the comments as reflecting on the German government as opposed to its people.

[13]  However, no one government was responsible for the conflicts discussed. The broadcast drew conclusions based on history and prophesy ‘foretold thousands of years ago’ and dating back to the Assyrians (described as ‘Germany, before they changed their name’).

[14]  In the circumstances, the comments are more likely to reflect on the German people. The standard therefore applies.

Whether the broadcast breached the standard

[15]  For a broadcast to encourage discrimination or denigration in breach of the standard, a high level of condemnation, often with an element of malice or nastiness is required.⁸ Broadcast content which has the effect of reinforcing or embedding negative stereotypes may also be considered.⁹

[16]  Context is important in assessing whether comments breach the standard, including:¹⁰

• the language and tone used
• the forum in which the comments were made
• whether the comments were repeated or sustained, or corrected or rebutted
• whether the comments made a legitimate contribution to a wider debate or carried public interest.

[17]  The following factors are relevant in this case:

a)  Sustained negative commentary: Over the course of the approximately half-hour broadcast, there were repeated descriptions of Germans as ‘war-making’, ‘into warfare’ and as about ‘to start World War III’. This was amplified by references to violence during World War II and to Germany as, for example, a ‘pariah’ and ‘hideous beast power’. As previously recognised by the Authority, the sustained nature of comments raises their cumulative negative impact.¹¹

b)  The tone and language of the broadcast: The presenter’s tone was definitive. Although the presenter did compliment German people as ‘a great people’ and a ‘war-making, yet talented and hard-working people’, these positive comments were overshadowed (in the second case within the same sentence) by repeated rhetoric about Germans’ interest in ‘war-making’ and other strong language, and descriptions of past and anticipated violence.

c)  The forum in which the comments were made: The relevant comments were made within a programme that sought to present world events in the light of Bible prophecy.¹² The Bible was presented as an authority for some comments, eg ‘your Bible says that they are going to be prophesied to start World War III as well’. Bible verse was also quoted to assert ‘it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations’. These references to the Bible are likely to contribute to some viewers’ impressions of the comments’ validity.

[18]  The cumulative effect of the various comments in this context, in our view, conveyed the high level of condemnation necessary to encourage the denigration of or discrimination against German people. We also consider the content was capable of embedding negative stereotypes of German people as inherently ‘war-making’ and violent.

[19]  We note the broadcaster’s reliance on guideline 4.2 which states the standard is not intended to prevent the broadcast of ‘a genuine expression of serious comment, analysis or opinion’. However, as we have previously recognised, this exception does not provide blanket protection for all comment, analysis or opinion.¹³ The comments in this broadcast extended beyond what was necessary to offer a ‘genuine expression of serious comment, analysis or opinion’. The presenter could have discussed biblical prophesies and interpretations without demonising Germans as a ‘hideous beast power from the underground’, who have it 'in their heart to destroy’ nations, and could be expected to start a ‘much more despicable and hateful and cruel’ World War III with ‘violence of all kinds’. This exceeded the boundaries of ‘serious comment, analysis or opinion’. The broadcast therefore falls outside the exception of guideline 4.2.

[20]  Finally, we agree with the complainant’s concerns about the risk of this broadcast sending a vulnerable or disaffected person ‘down the rabbit hole’ of misinformation. We consider more care was required in this case to be mindful of the harms which might arise from the expression of such views.

[21]  For the reasons above, we uphold the complaint under the discrimination and denigration standard.

For the above reasons the Authority upholds the complaint that the broadcast by Sky Free Ltd of The Key of David on 20 July 2025 breached Standard 4 (Discrimination and Denigration) of the Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand.

[22]  Having upheld the complaint under the discrimination and denigration standard, the Authority may make orders under sections 13 and 16 of the Broadcasting Act 1989. We invited submissions on orders from the complainant and the broadcaster.

Submissions on orders

[23]  Jones submitted that ordering a broadcast statement ‘could encourage the broadcaster to consider potential harms of broadcast content more seriously’ and ‘Perhaps more importantly … could also alert viewers to be considered in their response to this type [of] material being presented.’

[24]  Sky Free said:

• ‘We accept the Authority’s decision, acknowledge this was a legitimate breach and would like to assure the Authority that we take this matter seriously.’
• ‘As a result of this decision, we reminded all of the religious programme-makers of their obligations to provide us with content that complies with broadcasting standards.’
• ‘In the case of this particular episode of The Key Of David, which has only screened once, we have purged it from our system to ensure it is not scheduled for any repeat screenings.’
• ‘This is the first time this title has breached broadcasting standards after being on air in New Zealand for many years.’
• In these circumstances, publication of the Authority’s decision would be sufficient to publicly notify the breach of the discrimination and denigration standard, and no orders are warranted ‘in this first-time breach’.

Authority’s decision on orders

[25]  In determining whether orders are warranted and the type of order to impose, we consider the following factors:

• the seriousness of the breach and the number of upheld aspects of the complaint
• the degree of harm caused to any individual, section of society or the audience generally
• the objectives of the upheld standard(s)
• the attitude and actions of the broadcaster in relation to the complaint (eg whether the broadcaster upheld the complaint and/or took mitigating steps; or whether the broadcaster disputed the standards breach and/or aggravated the breach and any harm caused)
• whether the decision will sufficiently remedy the breach and give guidance to broadcasters, or whether something more is needed to achieve a meaningful remedy or to send a signal to broadcasters
• past decisions and/or orders in similar cases.

[26]  We have concluded no order is warranted in this case. This is the first decision upheld against The Key of David and the first against Sky Free. The broadcaster has accepted our decision, communicated with the programme makers reminding them of the need to adhere to broadcasting standards, and deleted the episode to prevent any future re-broadcast of the offending content. 

[27]  In these circumstances we consider publication of our decision is sufficient to publicly notify the breach of the discrimination and denigration standard, and to provide guidance to Sky Free and other broadcasters regarding the need to be mindful of the harms that may arise from the expression of views denigrating a particular group, in this type of programme.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
19 November 2025

Appendix

The correspondence listed below was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint:

1  Jones’s formal complaint to Sky Free – 20 July 2025

2  Sky Free’s decision on complaint – 5 August 2025

3  Jones’s referral to the Authority – 6 August 2025

4  Sky Free’s further comments – 11 August 2025

5  Jones’s confirmation of no further comments – 15 August 2025

6  Jones’s submissions on orders – 2 October 2025

7  Sky Free’s submissions on orders – 16 October 2025

¹ Philadelphia Church of God “Key of David” <pcg.church>
² For more information see Justas Kazlauskas “Lithuania Welcomes German Bridgade” Eurasia Daily Monitor (online ed, 5 June 2025)
³ Commentary, Standard 4, Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand, page 12
⁴ Standard 4, Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand
⁵ Introduction, Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand, page 4
⁶ Human Rights Act 1993, s 21
⁷ See Baker and Radio New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2024-054 at [22]; McArthur and Radio New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2023-004 at [34]; and Wakeman and Television New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2022-057 at [38]
⁸ Guideline 4.2
⁹ As above
¹⁰ Guideline 4.3
¹¹ Tualamali’i & Whittaker and Mediaworks Radio Ltd, Decision No. 2020-063 at [33]; and Adams, Godinet and Parsons and Television New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2010-145 at [23] 
¹² Philadelphia Church of God "Key of David" <pcg.church>
¹³ See Day & Moss and NZME Radio Ltd, Decision No. 2018-090 at [33] (exception did not apply to ‘highly inflammatory way to spark discussion about a political issue’); Simmons and 5 Others and Canwest Radioworks Ltd, Decision No. 2004-193 at [30] (exception did not apply to ‘unacceptable’ and ‘vitriolic’ tirade making unsubstantiated and denigratory allegations)