Free Press Suspended in New Zealand? The Daily Telegraph Disappears Without Warning

FREE PRESS SUSPENDED IN NEW ZEALAND? (AND THE SEQUEL)

On Tuesday, 4 August 2026, at approximately 11 am, the Daily Telegraph online paper mysteriously disappeared, as did email contact to the editor, and barrister, Malcolm Dreaneen. It has not been back online since.

The editor spent three days trying to find out what had happened and why. There were several key possibilities Malcolm came up with, and IT expert and legendary whistleblower Barry Young concurred. As Barry summarised, it was either: An admin error where the domain name had expired, or something similar; a provider error on the server side, or a potential hack, or a government takedown.  The latter was the most chilling, because of what it signals to New Zealand.

Malcolm had been working on elimination of all of these possibilities since Tuesday. By Friday he had traced it back to the most likely explanation being that of a government takedown within the department responsible for domain names, logically named the Domain Name Commission (DNC).

It is understood that if the DNC intends to take a site down then they must ensure that the holder of the site is notified in writing or by phone before it disappears. They must ensure they make contact with the owner of the site. That did not happen.

Once Malcolm had isolated the most likely perpetrator of the takedown he contacted the DNC and was advised that they would be in touch within two working days. That date was Tuesday, 11 August 2026. The date came and went with no word. Nothing.

The byline on the DNC is “Keeping .nz fair for everyone.” Oh, the irony.

The Daily Telegraph has had a constant and reliable presence in New Zealand for the past six years. The editor has at all times been true to the code of freedom of speech for the Press. This included the freedom for commenters to give their opinions on any of the articles without censorship.

This online paper uniquely gave New Zealanders what is so sorely lacking in the once mainstream media: The truth. The writers consistently shone a light on matters of great concern to our people, our country and its sovereignty. They were steadfast and undaunted in their aim to provide New Zealanders with uncomfortable truths that the government wanted to remain hidden. They did not follow the propaganda, they uncovered it, in a world where censorship was increasingly becoming the norm. The editor and writers for the Daily Telegraph exposed the truth and offered alternative views.

Over the past six years there was a slow-dawning realisation — even among those who had initially called them “conspiracy theorists” or worse — that the editor and writers of the DT demonstrated the courage to call out the corruption, and also suggest what could peacefully be done to safeguard democracy in our beautiful country. There are many, many, other legendary New Zealanders who work tirelessly in effective groups — such as NZDSOS, Lynda Wharton of The Health Forum, RCR, JWNZ, the Nurses Collective, among others, along with outstanding journalists who do the same, as well as countless individuals in the Freedom movement — but Malcolm built the only online newspaper of its kind from nothing and combined it with online news of the day with key writers who contribute to the Opinion section — from PhDs, to doctors, writers and freedom-loving New Zealanders. They stood up, spoke out, and provided factual references and links to back up their articles. This created the space to enable thousands of New Zealanders to also speak out – with relevant links to solid references – and call the government to account on serious issues that never saw the light of day in the so-called ‘mainstream’ media.

As a result, New Zealanders increasingly turned to the Daily Telegraph for balanced editorial and news. One Kiwi reader of the Daily Telegraph, Martin Hanson, provided feedback on the likely takedown of the online paper:

“If the government is involved, I think it is in danger of backing itself into a corner, if it doesn’t immediately reverse course on the DTNZ.

Ardern’s “sole source of truth” had strong totalitarian implications, but the shutting down of a newspaper that challenges the official narrative hammers a new nail in the coffin of our “democracy”. They can shut down the DTNZ, but they can’t silence Malcolm. Social media will have a field day, and it could go international via, for example, Liz Gunn and NZDSOS to mention a couple. 

In view of the driving force of US Senator Rand Paul over Fauci’s criminality, the clock may be ticking for the public exposure of the Covid disaster, with all that it implies for the criminality of Ardern and Hipkins, along with all of the others involved, including those who were complicit.

The DTNZ is the perfect antidote to the corrupt mainstream media, which are nothing less than stenographers for the powerful.”

The Daily Telegraph became a bastion of light in a world increasingly dominated by the darkest evil and the most corrupt influences imaginable. The Press of old has long been compromised for they are owned by those behind most governments, Left or Right, today.

They have been for a very long time.

From the 1860s to the 1870s, John Swainton was the editor of the New York Times and in the 1880s he spent time as an editorial writer for the New York Sun. At this retirement speech to his staff he said:

There is no such a thing in America as an independent press, unless it is out in country towns. You are all slaves. You know it, and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to express an honest opinion. If you expressed it, you would know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid $150 for keeping honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for doing similar things. If I should allow honest opinions to be printed in one issue of my paper, I would be like Othello before twenty-four hours: my occupation would be gone. The man who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the street hunting for another job. The business of a New York journalist is to distort the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread, or for what is about the same — his salary. You know this, and I know it; and what foolery to be toasting an “Independent Press”! We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping-jacks. They pull the string and we dance. Our time, our talents, our lives, our possibilities, are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.

The Daily Telegraph was none of those things. Yet most can see that key mainstream media are producing exactly what John Swainton described – in some form or another.

If the government took down this site, it raises serious issues because it crosses the line into overt censorship.  It comes dangerously close to tipping from the current façade of democracy to either fascist or communist rule. Fascists and communists have censorship and the axing of freedom of the press in common. To do this, especially immediately before an election, would also indicate a reckless disregard for the democracy so many of our ancestors gave their lives to preserve.

The government would also be in direct violation of The New Zealand Bill of Rights 1990 with #13 and #14, particularly relevant:

Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, including the right to adopt and to hold opinions without interference.

Freedom of expression

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.

It is less than three months before the country goes to the polls. Already key freedom parties are being dealt curve balls that are distracting, along with other ways to cancel them out, stretch their resources, and weaken them in every possible way, such as the media pretending they don’t exist, while fawning over communist-type alternatives such as the TOP Party that mysteriously pops up before recent elections with a strange 5% in polling while most New Zealanders don’t have a clue who they are, except for their communist plans, like Labour, and others, to tax New Zealanders to oblivion on their homes every year after they have worked hard to pay off their mortgages with money that has already been taxed, for property that already carries hefty property taxes from councils. (Labour of course has similar policies, along with the Greens. (Other Parties give cause for other serious concerns.) Yet the media give TOP key focus as an “alternative”.

The Freedom parties, ignored by mainstream, were always welcome to give their opinions at the Daily Telegraph.

In essence, the Daily Telegraph is a labour of love for the editor and its contributing writers. Why? Because they care. Because they have compassion. Because they value freedom, good health and happiness, and count unpolluted food and water as both a necessity and a Right. Because they want to alert fellow New Zealanders to what is really going on so everyone can find their voice and insist on the protection of their human rights. Because they want their descendants to grow up in freedom and in a country that holds their Bill of Rights sacrosanct.

It is now Thursday 13 August 2026. The Daily Telegraph has been down since 4 August 2026. There is still no word. Still, the government department (DNC) ignores their own requirements. No notification. No response. No denial. Nothing.

How long do we continue to pay government for no representation? For ignoring the New Zealand Bill of Rights? For hastily erecting the framework for 24/7 digital surveillance carte blanche, on a public that pays for representation, not digital prisons?

It seems it’s about time for some noisy, but peaceful, desk-thumping at your local MPs office — or any MP you think may listen — and to all would-be candidates for the upcoming election. Demand that the Daily Telegraph be put back up and that it is back up this week, not next year. Insist that we have our freedom of expression and that the government adheres to the New Zealand Bill of Rights. Also, please take up the invitation on the Domain Name Commission (DNC) website and make a complaint. Inform them that the Daily Telegraph website has been taken down and must be put back up immediately and dialogue must open with the Editor to swiftly resolve any issue. (We don’t want New Zealanders to end up like the little character on the front page of their site who seems to be looking for something in the distance that never arrives.)

For the past, most dire, six years in the history of this Nation, the Daily Telegraph has shone a light on the lies and courageously brought you the truth. It took at enormous amount of grit and dedication for Malcolm to have built this all up from scratch and steadfastly maintained it for over six years. It has involved countless hours days, weeks, and years of unflagging contribution. Now we can throw our support around this brave soul, for all that he created with such effort and dedication.

With Malcolm at the helm, the Daily Telegraph lit a flame that will never go out. It will always burn strongly, but we must continue to make that so. As Thomas Paine, so eloquently stated, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” That includes all of us.

Wherever you are in New Zealand, if for any reason you feel you are unable to speak up, please help by contributing to those who do, as our country is teetering on the brink of falling into tyranny. In addition to a complaint to the DNC, another positive way to help is to contribute to Justice Watch New Zealand and/or New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science. Alternatively, join local groups who share your concerns about the creeping loss of our freedoms, the violations of our New Zealand Bill of Rights, censorship, datacentres, the attempted enforcement of gene-tech and many other major issues that have been raised by us all. Messages of support for Malcolm would also be a wonderful lift for him at this time. Feel free to leave them beneath this article.

A brief note to all who found my articles on the DT of value: They will continue to be available at nzdsos.com in their “Articles and Commentary” section. I have over 70 in-depth articles and most have been published by nzdsos.com as well. I continue to write. Feedback, as always, is welcome and there is space to comment beneath each article. My articles will also be on the DT again as soon as it goes back online.

New Zealanders, together, let’s make this flame of truth, compassion and love for our people and our country shine through.

THE SEQUEL

On Thursday 13 August 2026, a few hours after this article was completed and sent to be published, I received a call from the editor of the Daily Telegraph (DT) who said that the government department (the Domain Name Commission) had just been in contact by phone. The editor was advised the website would be put back up and he would receive confirmation in writing. The man speaking for the department explained that they had tried to contact the editor some weeks ago to verify the website but never heard back, so they took the site down.

Their efforts to communicate to the editor included emailing and trying to make contact through an old website of the editor’s father who had not used that website for five years.

The editor was unable to respond to any email as the takedown had included removal of his email address and all communications connected with the DT. The editor was further advised it would be at least another week before the site could be back up again. At the time we spoke there had been no email confirmation of this welcome news.

The editor was left pondering why the department representative had not simply called him. Just as he had done on the afternoon of 13 August 2026 when he was advised the site would go back up.

I am not sure what prompted me to type in www.dailytelegraph.co.nz on the browser a few hours later. Intuition maybe? Expecting a miracle? I didn’t really anticipate seeing anything other than a notice telling me the site didn’t exist, but there, to my astonishment, was the site! It was a great moment. The editor, when notified, was equally amazed.

We both agreed, it was like having an old friend back.

The story still stands, because it needed to be told. But for now, all who know and love the Daily Telegraph are just enjoying the magic of having it up and running again.

New Zealanders need this precious online independent voice.

Whoever talked to the department: Thank you.