Default and the Power of Silence

“Sticks and stones…” was the common retort to bullies in the schoolground. But in an age of BigTech, it’s what’s not said, that can often cause harm.

I’m researching this broad topic at the moment. This short post describes three ways Them Lot use that ‘D’ in MINDSPACE - the strategy of ‘Default’ - to maintain the silence that has become a weapon of choice. Reflecting on my experience of recent years, particularly with New Zealand institutions, and it’s inherent Lawfare, I define three specific, repeated strategies used against Us Lot: ‘Gagging Clause’, ‘Delete Key’ and ‘Crying Wolf’.

Intro

Have you noticed how contact details, desk-based landline numbers and even email address for individuals on (NZ) Government websites have disappeared recently? Instead, we are offered generic ‘info@’ or ‘media@’ email addresses to try our luck with. Or worse, no contact details at all - an AI ‘ChatBot’ appears onscreen. Urghh!

This isn’t coincidental. Nor is it to do with claims of streamlining comms for ‘improving efficiency’. Public sector debt is at record levels, along with low levels of customer satisfaction. ‘Default’ means if we are forced to spend our precious time searching for that CEOs email address, we’re more likely to skip that investigation and just try using the generic one provided.

Introduce a ‘speed bump’ like a departmental email address, and the (unwanted) communication is slowed down, or hopefully (think Them Lot), eradicated altogether. A needle, lost in that haystack of ‘spam’. That’s the ‘D’ in the Nudge Unit’s MINDSPACE strategy. Make the ‘easiest route’ more anonymous, ambiguous and convoluted and that specific communication becomes untraceable, opaque and unaccountable. The outcome reduces ‘troublesome’ feedback and effectively silences dissent.

1. Gagging Clauses

One significant strategy employed by Human Resource (HR) managers to maintain silence is the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) through the objectionable but all-too-common Kiwi employee exit-door, signposted ‘Personal Grievance’.

My research suggests that $millions of taxpayers’ funds are unethically exploited by our public sectors every year. This creates the illusion of consensus through Public Relations (PR) spin and gagging clauses. And those costs will undoubtedly increase. In an era of economic and geopolitical instability, job insecurity always ensures staff are easily controlled.

2. Delete Key

Another strategy that is borrowed from the Corporate Playbook by public sector PR machines is far simpler, and cheaper: the Delete Key. Emails - especially those generic ones I mentioned above - can all-too easily be ‘lost’, ignored, dismissed, delayed or simply given a tokenistic response:

“Thank you for your feedback, your comments have been noted.”

Once released into the ether, rarely is an email chased-up by the sender. After all, no-one actually reads emails, do they?

And if it is read, a simple deflection to another department, entity or individual is all that is required to avoid annoying engagement. Many Official Information Act (OIA) requests have been batted-around for months with this tactic. This is another ‘speed bump’ designed to direct us to the Default.

Like many Government entities, Waipā District Council avoids uncomfortable truths by censoring news and disabling comments on their social media posts; another form of the Delete Key tactic.

Over the years, and in the context of different topics, I have drawn on diverse psychological methods in repeated (desperate) attempts to engage in an authentic dialogue with New Zealand public servants (they don’t like being reminded of that role). From constructive feedback to formal, serious complaints, whether it’s via ‘phone, hand-written, an online survey or in an email, seldom do I even get an acknowledgement.

I have learned that expecting an authentic, intelligent, meaningful response is, sadly, delusional.

You may say, why not send your words in hard copy? Surely a tracked letter or report is likely to get some attention and therefore a response? The answer is, no. There is simply no difference how the contact is made: deletion is virtual, physical or both.

Crying Wolf

To add insult to injury, with repeated attempts to be heard, these public servants eventually may react, but instead of a professional response, they prefer to ‘Cry Wolf’.

First, they may get a lawyer involved - to give them ‘legal advice’ (that ironically, we are paying for). Then they attempt to make exaggerated claims of ‘threats’ and fake a perceived risk to their ‘personal safety’ as a result of citizens who dare to demand answers to uncomfortable questions. Here’s a recent example from Waipa’s incumbent Mayor:

[Susan O’Regan] revealed she nearly decided not to stand again due to the toll abuse and threats had taken on her and her family. “I was frightened for them at times over the last three years,” she said […] “To contemplate going through that again really rocked my confidence. It affected me in ways I don’t think people fully appreciated.” Despite those challenges, O’Regan has chosen to run again… [reported Te Awamutu News, 23/07/25]

This secondary tactic, to turn to a third party and blame the victim for questioning the strategy of silence, also relies on a type of Default: it’s human nature to blame others for something, instead of focusing on the (difficult) topic itself.

Conclusion

There are many strategic silencing techniques, here I’ve only refined three of them: a Gagging Clause, Delete Key and Crying Wolf. These deliberate strategies further escalate the frustrations felt by Us Lot whose voices have been deliberately deplatformed, censored or worse. We are now at a tipping point.

As an optimist: I believe that most people are intrinsically good and want to help each other in times of need. And it’s Spring - there is hope! I am a resilient personality, refusing to give up on the country I still choose to call home. But I can understand why so many New Zealanders get so frustrated with being silenced that they give up, retreat into isolation and depression and heartbreakingly, some ultimately take their own lives.

Once we recognise the strategy of Default - whether it’s used as a slippery slope towards our own enslavement, or more subtly to create unhelpful ‘speed bumps’ that prevent communication, we can overcome this. Slow down, think mindfully. We need more face-to-face interactions and creative ways to address these challenges.

We have to persist for all our sakes, to let everyone’s voice be heard and to prevent the Kiwi gatekeepers from abusing their positions of power and silencing dissent.

Thank you so much to my wonderful supporters! My writing and research couldn’t happen without you! You can Buy Me a Coffee here so I can continue to Pay it Forward!

Thanks for reading Informed Heart! This post is public so feel free to share it.