Jacinda Ardern and Rhys Darby star in New Zealand ‘map conspiracy’ tourism ad

Flight of the Conchords comedian warns PM
that island is being left off of world maps

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The comedian suggests that international actors
could be behind the omissions – Australia “stealing our tourists”,
“sneaky Frenchies” conspiring to hide New Zealand wines, and
England “trying to get rid of the All Blacks once and for
all”.

“We’re quite a fiddly-looking shaped country, a
bit like a half-eaten lamb chop,” he adds. “Perhaps people are just
leaving us off, thinking we’re a mistake?”

The video ends with Ardern pledging to take
action – with help from New Zealanders.

Tourism New Zealand’s #getszonthemap campaign is
inspired by a real phenomenon that has not gone unnoticed by
Kiwis.

The island’s remote location 900 miles east of
Australia means it is frequently omitted from designs featuring
maps of the world in everything from Risk boards to John Lewis tablecloths.

A Reddit message board dedication to recording
instances where New Zealand is left off the map has 40,000
subscribers, sharing hundreds of examples.

One particularly egregious omission can be found on
the New Zealand government’s own websites, whose error pages display an NZ-free world maps.

It is not the only online conspiracy concerning
New Zealand’s place on the map.

The island’s position relative to Australia is a
frequent example of the Mandela Effect – a false memory phenomenon
in which many people claim to “remember” something which never
occurred.

An online community has sprung up to share
“evidence” that New Zealand was previously depicted as being north-east rather
than south-east of Australia.