Kiwibank copyright takedowns of explicit sheep-mascot memes spark free speech row
Kiwibank sent copyright notices to remove sexualised memes of its sheep mascot Buck, drawing criticism from the Free Speech Union and John Oliver. The bank says it acted over harmful content.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Kiwibank, a New Zealand state-owned bank, unveiled a green-wooled sheep mascot called Buck on 3 July in a campaign urging consumers to "bank Kiwi". The IndependentLC “The bank unveiled “Buck” on 3 July in a marketing campaign showing a cute sheep with green wool, urging consumers to “bank Kiwi”.” Read at The Independent ↗ Hindustan TimesN “The state-owned financial institution unveiled a new green-wooled and brown-eyed mascot.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Mixed · 2Social media users soon posted explicit memes sexualising Buck, and one viral post gained millions of views. The IndependentLC “It didn’t take long for bizarre posts to appear on social media, some sexualising Buck” Read at The Independent ↗ Hindustan TimesN “It started with a confronting tweet that went viral, gaining millions of views.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Mixed · 2In September the bank sent copyright notices to X and Bluesky demanding takedowns, and the platforms replaced the images with a notice saying the media had been disabled after a report by the copyright owner. The IndependentLC “The bank responded in September by sending copyright notices demanding the takedown of posts featuring the mascot from X and Bluesky.” Read at The Independent ↗ Hindustan TimesN “The bank filed a series of copyright claims trying to stop people from using its mascot as the subject of NSFW memes.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗
Left · 1According to the Spinoff, as cited by The Independent, the notices led to the removal of posts by at least 10 X accounts and a number of Bluesky artists. The IndependentLC “The bank’s notices led to the removal of posts by at least 10 X accounts and a number of Bluesky artists, according to Spinoff.” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 1The Independent reports the crackdown backfired, with similar posts flooding social media and the original post getting over four million views. The IndependentLC “The attempted clampdown backfired, however, as social media was flooded by similar posts about Buck and the original post garnered over four million views.” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2A Kiwibank spokesperson said the bank acted to protect its intellectual property and because it feared sexualised material involving Buck could be harmful and illegal; the spokesperson also told the Guardian that "doing nothing wasn't the right thing to do because of the harmful content" while recognising the response "became part of a conversation". The IndependentLC “A spokesperson said Kiwibank had acted to protect its intellectual property and because it worried that sexualised material involving Buck could be harmful and illegal.” Read at The Independent ↗ Hindustan TimesN “We felt doing nothing wasn’t the right thing to do because of the harmful content.”” Read at Hindustan Times ↗
Mixed · 2The Free Speech Union wrote an open letter to Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich, arguing the posts were jokes about a bank's mascot, that at least one used Kiwibank's own unaltered advertising image, and that fair use covers commentary, criticism and parody; it demanded the bank withdraw the notices against such posts and against artwork that does not copy Buck. Hindustan TimesN “wrote an open letter to Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ The IndependentLC “The group demanded that the bank withdraw the notices against posts using its “own unaltered images with commentary, and against artwork that does not copy Buck”.” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2The row reached US television when John Oliver on Last Week Tonight called the crackdown "completely counterproductive" and noted that Buck had disappeared from the bank's TikTok posts: six of the first ten after launch featured the sheep, but none of the next 18 did. The IndependentLC “He said Kiwibank’s crackdown had proved “completely counterproductive” and noted the bank had abandoned the promotion with Buck.” Read at The Independent ↗ Hindustan TimesN “since then they have posted 18 times and the sheep is in exactly none of them.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Centre · 1Hindustan Times adds that the bank released an AI video in which Buck refers to "stuff made about me", with an Instagram caption saying "Jokes aside... the internet can be a weird place", and that Buck was created by Kiwi VFX artists, with AI editing tools animating her movements and a Kiwi actress voicing her. Hindustan TimesN ““There’s been some stuff made about me – put on the internet. And if you saw what I had seen, you’d be shocked,””“Buck was created by Kiwi VFX artists and this video uses AI editing tools to animate her movements. She is voiced by a Kiwi actress.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Treats it as an unlikely free speech row in which the bank's takedown attempt backfired.
- Emphasis
- The scale of the backlash, the Free Speech Union's fair-use argument, the number of accounts affected and John Oliver's mockery.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the bank's AI response video or how the mascot was made.
- Charged language
- “backfired”“unlikely free speech row”
- For example
-
“The attempted clampdown backfired, however, as social media was flooded by similar posts about Buck” — The Independent
“The mascot of a New Zealand bank has become the subject of an unlikely controversy over the right to make memes.” — The Independent
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A lighter explainer on who Buck is and how the mascot became a meme target, with the bank criticised for its crackdown.
- Emphasis
- Buck's origins, the bank's tongue-in-cheek AI video, and the bank's stated reasons for acting.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not give the number of accounts affected or the platforms (X and Bluesky) named in the notices.
- Charged language
- “NSFW memes”“ruffles my fleece”
- For example
-
“Instead, the mascot became a target for explicit internet humour and NSFW memes.” — Hindustan Times
“Our concern was a serious one, and we believed it was important to address it,”” — Hindustan Times
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Kiwibank launched the sheep mascot Buck in a campaign this year.
- Explicit memes of Buck spread online and Kiwibank filed copyright claims against them.
- John Oliver called the crackdown "completely counterproductive".
- The Free Speech Union wrote an open letter to the bank's chief executive criticising the takedowns.
Where accounts differ
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Whether the takedowns were justified
- Left
- Frames the move as a backfiring clampdown, citing the Free Speech Union's fair-use argument.
- Centre
- Reports criticism of the crackdown alongside the bank's view that harmful content had to be addressed.
Kiwibank organisation
Says it acted against explicit and harmful content to protect its intellectual property, while acknowledging the response became part of a public conversation; it also answered with a humorous AI video.
“We recognise that the response became part of a conversation.” — Hindustan Times
“A spokesperson said Kiwibank had acted to protect its intellectual property and because it worried that sexualised material involving Buck could be harmful and illegal.” — The Independent
Left1 article
-
New Zealand bank’s sheep mascot kicks off unlikely free speech row
Critical Presents the takedown effort as a failed overreach that triggered a free speech row.
Centre1 article
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Who is Buck? New Zealand bank’s sheep mascot becomes target of explicit memes
Mixed Explainer-style piece with light tone that relays both the criticism and the bank's justification.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 13 Oct 10:58 First The IndependentLC New Zealand bank’s sheep mascot kicks off unlikely free speech row
- 15 Oct 07:07 +44h 9m Hindustan TimesN Who is Buck? New Zealand bank’s sheep mascot becomes target of explicit memes
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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