Tired of royal coronation news? A Maori artist has created a browser plugin that will ‘turn off the Toff’

If you’re tired of reading news about the coronation of King Charles, there’s a new plugin to block out the royal din.

It’s called Pikari Mai! and was designed by Maori artist Hāmiora Bailey. Downloadable for free on Google Chrome and Firefox, it replaces all monarchy-related stories with indigenous news, allowing browsers to “turn off the tof”, as the website puts it.

“For indigenous people, the fanfare and coverage surrounding the royal coronation is beyond boring,” the Pikari Mai! website continued. “So Tangata Whenua (People Of the Land) from Aotearoa (New Zealand) has created Pīkari Mai, a desktop-only plugin that allows people to go offline.”

The aim, as well as removing the litany of royal stories that have filled the New Zealand media landscape in recent weeks, is to draw attention to Indigenous authors and stories. According to a 2022 study by Massey University, Maori make up less than 10% of journalists in the country.

“I want to give my koroua, my grandparents or my elders, and the status of an indigenous nation as important as the crown obtains – and why not? Bailey said The Guardian.

Pikari Mai! works by scanning web pages for words and images related to the royal family, then replacing them with articles from indigenous Maori media. It was created in partnership with advertising agency Colenso BBDO in less than a week and was promoted on billboards and radio.

Despite the great distance between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, King Charles III remains New Zealand’s ceremonial head of state. The Maori never ceded their sovereignty to the crown and to this day New Zealand continues to struggle against the shadow of a violent colonial legacy. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who is in London for the coronation, has expressed his desire for New Zealand to become a republic, but does not see it as a current political priority.

“The coronation celebration perpetuates the myth that there is only one treaty. Tangata whenua never ceded sovereignty,” Bailey said in a statement. “We created Pīkari Mai! as a special art project to challenge the coronation.

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