# Political Satire Rises in 2026 Election Campaign

> New Zealand's political satire pages gain traction as election campaign heats up.
- Title: Political Satire Rises in 2026 Election Campaign · RNZ
- Summary: New Zealand's political satire pages gain traction as election campaign heats up. New Zealand's 2026 election campaign sees a resurgence of political satire…
- Keywords: political satire, 2026 election, coalition government, beehiving badly, carpool coalition, winston peters, ben uffindell, civilian website, massey university, media studies, politics, news
- Source: RNZ — https://rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/2305998/political-satire-is-having-a-renaissance-during-the-2026-election-campaign
- Author: RNZ | Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa
- Published: 2026-11-02T17:09:22+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: political satire, 2026 election, coalition government, beehiving badly, carpool coalition, winston peters, ben uffindell, civilian website, massey university, media studies, politics, news
## Political Satire Resurges
Political satire is having a renaissance during New Zealand's 2026 election campaign.
## Two Prominent Satire Pages
Beehiving Badly features South Park-style animated videos of politicians, while Carpool Coalition posts content targeting coalition government figures.
## Winston Peters' Reaction
Peters called the satire 'a lie' and denied smoking, saying he hasn't seen the content.

> I haven't seen it. It's a lie, and i don't smoke
## Satire's Historical Context
Peters has been featured in New Zealand satire since the 1980s including 'Public Eye' and 'Facelift'.
## Dr Nicholas Holm's View
Holm says satire creators can now adopt hyper-partisan positions due to social media and ai.
## Ben Uffindell's Return
Uffindell resurrected his 'Civilian' website for 2026, focusing on written articles targeting politicians across the spectrum.
## Satire's Current Challenges
Uffindell notes leaders are less ripe for satire now but the political environment offers new opportunities.

> I actually feel like this is a bad period for satire because leaders of the parties are not exciting
## Key takeaway

New Zealand's 2026 election campaign sees a resurgence of political satire targeting coalition government figures through online platforms.