The National Party has quietly deleted an Instagram post after people pointed out a not-so-subtle anti-police slogan in the background.
The post, shared today, featured a photo-shopped pic of UK pop star Dua Lipa taking a mirror selfie.
She was edited to wear a purple shirt that read “More concerts are coming to NZ” across the front.
The message was referencing the Government’s new events fund boost - a $10 million fund to “support the growth and promotion of events delivered during the 2026 calendar year”.
The fund also aims to drive international artists to our shores and generate exposure by promoting New Zealand as an events and tourism destination.
But what the party seemingly missed was the wall behind her, where the slogan “ACAB” - short for “all cops are bastards” - is clearly seen.
According to VICE, the acronym (which also goes by ‘1312’) has been an anti-police phrase and hate symbol, dating back to the UK in the 1920s, but gained picked up traction again after the death of US man George Floyd in 2020.
Commenters were quick to point it out, and the post has since been deleted from their social media page.
It’s an especially awkward mistake for National, who publicly claim to “back police”.
As a party, National has been very vocal on tackling gang crimes in NZ, saying: “National is the party of law and order, in government, will back police by giving them a range of new powers to disrupt and crack down on gang crime.”
National’s current Police Minister Mark Mitchell is even a former cop himself.
Whoops?!
