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Research on offensive language in broadcasting released today


Warning: This research contains language which may offend.

Today we released the results of our research, Language That May Offend in Broadcasting, which surveyed more than 1,500 members of the NZ public about the words or expressions that may be used on television or radio that they find most offensive.

The results indicate that traditional strong swear words continue to be the most unacceptable regardless of the context, but New Zealanders also have heightened sensitivity to language that may be considered offensive from a cultural, or gender and/or sexual orientation point of view.


Today we released the results of our research, Language That May Offend in Broadcasting, which surveyed more than 1,500 members of the NZ public about the words or expressions that may be used on television or radio that they find most offensive.

The results indicate that traditional strong swear words continue to be the most unacceptable regardless of the context, but New Zealanders also have heightened sensitivity to language that may be considered offensive from a cultural, or gender and/or sexual orientation point of view.

You can read our media release on this research here and the full research report here.