NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Council pulls livestream after offensive subtitle blunder calls 'RAT test' a 'rape kit'

Nikki Preston
By Nikki Preston
NZ Herald·
24 Feb, 2022 01:09 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Focus Morning Bulletin: 24 Feb, 2022
Police and protesters clash in late-night drama, prepping for a move to phase 3 and stand-off continues between Ukraine and Russia in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald ...
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
    • captions off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Drones could be coming to farm sheds and beaches near you

      UP NEXT:

      Autoplay in
      4
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Police and protesters clash in late-night drama, prepping for a move to phase 3 and stand-off continues between Ukraine and Russia in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
      NOW PLAYING • Focus Morning Bulletin: 24 Feb, 2022
      Police and protesters clash in late-night drama, prepping for a move to phase 3 and stand-off continues between Ukraine and Russia in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald ...

      Waikato Regional Council pulled its first online streaming of a full council meeting half-way through after the captions were lost in translation and referred to "RAT tests" as "rape kits".

      Earlier in the meeting the subtitles incorrectly transcribed the word "is" as "ass" and referred to "councillor Pamela Storey" as "councillor Secret".

      The mostly humorous , but sometimes offensive misinterpretations and bloopers carried on for more than an hour before the livestream was suddenly pulled from its YouTube channel at about 12.30pm.

      Read More

      • Waikato Regional Council spends $11K on shindig for ...
      • Waikato Regional Council chairman Russ Rimmington accused ...
      • Fit-out for Waikato Regional Council's new offices ...

      It was back online within an hour with the subtitles removed.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Councillors had just received a health and safety report which included a demonstration about how it would be using rapid antigen tests (RATs) when the video was abruptly replaced with a serene image of a family sitting on a park bench with their small dog.

      The staff member has just made comments that people could "check in with a RAT test", but this was translated in a subtitle as "chicken rape". The words RAT test were also misconstrued as "rape kit".

      Waikato Regional Council chief executive Chris McLay said the council had been investigating livestreaming meetings to make decision making even more transparent for it communities.

      Waikato Regional Council's livestream was back online within an hour without subtitles. Image / Waikato Regional Council
      Waikato Regional Council's livestream was back online within an hour without subtitles. Image / Waikato Regional Council

      Today's livestream has been a trial and the link hadn't been promoted so it could troubleshoot any issues including using the captioning option.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      "Unfortunately, it appears the Kiwi accent is a tough one to decipher and some words were being wrongly captioned ... When we became aware of the live captioning issue, we deleted the recording."

      The council still plans to formally begin livestreaming from March, but it will now be without captions.

      Today's soft launch comes more than two years after the council voted in December 2019 to live stream meetings.

      The delays were due to disruptions caused by the pandemic and because the council was waiting move to its new building in the CBD, which happened at the end of May 2022, according to a council response provided to the Herald last month.

      The council had planned to livestream the meeting via YouTube using a single camera on a tripod on August 21 last year, but the plans were scuppered after the country went back into lockdown a week before it was due to happen.

      It instead started publishing online audio-visual recordings as soon as possible after meetings as an interim option.

      Save

        Share this article

      Latest from New Zealand

      New Zealand

      How traditional Māori farming methods boost modern agriculture

      19 Jun 05:01 PM
      Premium
      Letters to the Editor

      Letters: Fair taxes is one way helping those who struggle

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      Politics

      As Middle East burns, Luxon meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing

      19 Jun 05:00 PM

      Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

      sponsored
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Recommended for you
      How traditional Māori farming methods boost modern agriculture
      The Country

      How traditional Māori farming methods boost modern agriculture

      19 Jun 05:01 PM
      Art light trail snakes through Auckland city centre for Matariki
      New Zealand

      Art light trail snakes through Auckland city centre for Matariki

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      Whanganui rugby: Regional rivalry returns
      Whanganui Chronicle

      Whanganui rugby: Regional rivalry returns

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      What Bremworth’s $2m Kāinga Ora contract means for Whanganui
      Whanganui Chronicle

      What Bremworth’s $2m Kāinga Ora contract means for Whanganui

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      Auckland cafe to close after 70 years following rates dispute settlement
      Lifestyle

      Auckland cafe to close after 70 years following rates dispute settlement

      19 Jun 05:00 PM

      Latest from New Zealand

      How traditional Māori farming methods boost modern agriculture

      How traditional Māori farming methods boost modern agriculture

      19 Jun 05:01 PM

      Matariki hākari is the time to celebrate the kai that comes from the land of Kiwi farms.

      Premium
      Letters: Fair taxes is one way helping those who struggle

      Letters: Fair taxes is one way helping those who struggle

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      As Middle East burns, Luxon meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing

      As Middle East burns, Luxon meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      Premium
      Jobs on the line at Auckland's Government House in cost-cutting proposal

      Jobs on the line at Auckland's Government House in cost-cutting proposal

      19 Jun 05:00 PM
      Help for those helping hardest-hit
      sponsored

      Help for those helping hardest-hit

      NZ Herald
      • About NZ Herald
      • Meet the journalists
      • Newsletters
      • Classifieds
      • Help & support
      • Contact us
      • House rules
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of use
      • Competition terms & conditions
      • Our use of AI
      Subscriber Services
      • NZ Herald e-editions
      • Daily puzzles & quizzes
      • Manage your digital subscription
      • Manage your print subscription
      • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
      • Subscribe to Herald Premium
      • Gift a subscription
      • Subscriber FAQs
      • Subscription terms & conditions
      • Promotions and subscriber benefits
      NZME Network
      • The New Zealand Herald
      • The Northland Age
      • The Northern Advocate
      • Waikato Herald
      • Bay of Plenty Times
      • Rotorua Daily Post
      • Hawke's Bay Today
      • Whanganui Chronicle
      • Viva
      • NZ Listener
      • Newstalk ZB
      • BusinessDesk
      • OneRoof
      • Driven Car Guide
      • iHeart Radio
      • Restaurant Hub
      NZME
      • About NZME
      • NZME careers
      • Advertise with NZME
      • Digital self-service advertising
      • Book your classified ad
      • Photo sales
      • NZME Events
      • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
      TOP
      search by queryly Advanced Search